Rise
by B'Resheet
Summary: Years after the Marimeia Incedent, the pilots have settled into their lives- becoming as close to normal as possible. Normal being used loosely, as Hiiro's recruitment of a petite blonde into his Special Ops squad is sure to throw a wrench into things.
1. Prologue

Rise  
B'resheet

Disclaimer: Insert standard disclaimer here. I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, including any and all characters or other trademarks associated with either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. I do however claim right to any original characters or original situations included in this story.

* * *

Hiiro Yui watched through the bulletproof glass over looking the Preventers' live-fire training area as one lone senior trainee played bad-guy for a full anti-terrorism unit running it's daily exercise.

"What is the target armed with?" Hiiro asked the captain overseeing the exercise, the man quickly checked over the paperwork before replying.

"One fighting knife, six throwing knives, and one handgun with two clips provided. Target is free to collect any weapons or ammo dropped by or captured from the unit." he listed off before setting the papers on the computer terminal next to him.

"Expected completion time?"

"It's a timed exercise. Situational- there is a bomb on site, they have an hour to find and disarm the bomb, or forty minutes to capture and interrogate the target, and then find the bomb."the captain explained, "It's been twenty minutes."

Hiiro nodded and watched as the black-suited target took out two members of the unit, managing to retrieve a semiautomatic rifle from one of them, before being forced around a corner by a third.

"How many has the target taken down so far?"

"Those were numbers ten and eleven; there are seven more remaining."

"Hn..."

* * *

"You got us again, Tsukino- are you sure you don't want to join the anti-terrorism unit once you've finished training?" the good natured squad commander asked as their target entered the locker room, helmet still shielding Hiiro's view of the person's face from where he stood by the door.

There was a muffled laugh, which turned into a feminine giggle as the figure pulled off the helmet, spilling more blonde hair than should have been able to fit underneath it.

"Sorry, Ian. I still haven't heard my true calling." the young woman said with a smile, before the commander -Ian Truvoski, was his name, if he remembered correctly- suddenly realized Hiiro's presence in the room.

"Sir! I didn't realize you were on base today!" he said, snapping to attention and walking over to salute Hiiro.

"I had a friend recommend it to me." Hiiro replied, returning the salute before waving at the commander to be at ease; "Will you introduce me to our talented terrorist?"

"Of course, Sir." Ian replied before waving Tsukino over. "This is Cadet First Captain Usagi Tsukino. Japan sent her to us, she's got about a week left in her live-combat training."

"Full officer's training?" Hiiro asked the woman, as she saluted him.

"Yes, Sir." Usagi answered, her voice softer than he had expected after seeing her performance in the training area.

"Specialized?"

"Not yet, Sir." she replied, and Hiiro paused a moment to look her over a bit more closely; she couldn't be older than twenty-one or two, and a small frame despite the lean muscle that must have been hiding underneath the black jump suit she wore.

"Considered spec ops?" he finally asked after a moment of silence, making Ian look, startled, at the petite blonde beside him.

"I've wished, Sir. But that's hard to get into..." she replied with a slight grin, "I've heard you're very picky, Shosa."

Hiiro's lips quirked into a small grin of his own, before turning back to look at the older woman that had silently appeared in the doorway; "Tell Une that I want her on a shuttle to L1 as soon as her graduation ceremony is over, Sally. And thank Maxwell for me, when you see him next."

"Sure thing, Hiiro."

* * *

Usagi typed away on her laptop as she neared the end of her five hour trip from Earth, and her heart hadn't stopped pounding since the sleek black Preventers' car had picked her up from her graduation in Brussels.

Her father and mother had been extremely proud when she told them where she was being stationed, and her little brother had told her that he was following in her footsteps- he was starting his own training as soon as he finished high school.

With a sigh, Usagi snapped shut the laptop, at least Shingo wasn't going to waste her parents money with two years of college before making up his mind, like she had. With a small smile, Usagi remembered her days in university, she didn't regret the experience- only the fact that her parents had to sacrifice as much as they had in order for her to go to the best school in Japan.

Only for her to decide at the end of her second year that she wanted to join the Preventers, and screw finishing school before hand. Of course, it was her roommate slash best friend's fault. Rei had made the comment, at the beginning of the semester, that Usagi just didn't seem to put as much into her studies anymore. That she spent more time at Rei's father's dojo, than she did in class.

After weeks of introspections, Usagi had figured out that she wanted to _fight_ the problems she saw, not _talk_ about them like her major in international relations was preparing her for. Her dilemma had been easy to solve after that point, there was only one place she could go to do what she wanted.

* * *

Author's Note:

So, yes, I did say I wasn't going to write gw/sm xovers anymore. But, well... things change, hey.

A translation note:

'Shosa' is 'Major' – if you watch Ghost in the Shell subtitled though, that's a pretty easy one to pick up on. Also- the name "Rise" was taken from the name of a song from the GitS:SAC 2ndGIG OST. It's the opening song, and I think it fits very well for the planned story line.

Usagi's rank of "Cadet First Captain " is taken from West Point tradition, the Cadet First Captain is the highest position in the Corps of Cadets.

B'resheet

11/27/07 - 02:54:03 PM


	2. Chapter One

Rise  
B'resheet

Disclaimer: Insert standard disclaimer here. I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, including any and all characters or other trademarks associated with either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. I do however claim right to any original characters or original situations included in this story.

* * *

Usagi sat in the rec room of the base for the lone Special Operations group, Squad 01, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she attempted, for what seemed like the thousandth time, to beat the damn final boss of the newest Sailor V video game. 

It had been two weeks since she first arrived, to find that Hiiro Yui being picky about his squad had been a severe understatement.

There were two other members, besides Hiiro and herself; one of them was Wufei Chang, who had been introduced as an old war mate of Hiiro's , and the other was Ami Mizuno- a doctor and intelligence analyst officer, who was actually the oldest of them all. Which was much to Usagi's surprise, she looked like she was younger than Usagi herself.

And unfortunately for Ami, and Wufei, Usagi died again just as they walked into the room.

"Whyyyyy?! Why won't you just die you stupid, stupid, dumb son of a-!" Usagi ranted for a moment, before grinning sheepishly up at them, once she realized their presence in the room. "Hou... Morning!"

"Good morning, Usagi. Having issues?" Ami asked with a smile, while Wufei muttered something about "onnas" and their ability to be absolutely weird as he took one of the chairs. Usagi returned the smile as she stood, powering off the console and putting her controller next to a book on the coffee table.

"A few, Ami. How are you guys doing?" she asked, moving to sit on the couch.

"Bored." Wufei muttered, making Ami and Usagi smile.

"Fine, Usagi. Wufei is about to go insane from inactivity, though." Ami answered, sitting next to Usagi and curiously picking up the book from the table. "Zi Wei Dou Shu? What is that?"

"Chinese fortune telling." Wufei answered, quirking an eyebrow in Usagi's direction. "You don't seem the type, Tsukino."

Usagi laughed, slipping the book from Ami's fingers; "I'm not very good at it, the book was a gift from my best friend."

"Your friend was interested in it then?" Ami asked, as Usagi flipped through the book quickly.

"Rei's grandfather was a priest, keeper of a Shinto temple in Juuban, Tokyo. She was his novice, while we were growing up. She took over as head priestess, when he finally retired last year." she explained with a nod; "Rei is proficient in multiple types of fortune telling through her training, and she is almost always correct. Except in one area."

"Which is that?" Ami asked, puzzled.

"Love lives. Rei is as cynical as anyone could be. Doesn't believe in love, the pleasures of sex, oh yes. But love?" Usagi replied with a giggle, handing the book back over to Ami, who opened it to the preface to scan over.

"You actually believe that stuff?" Wufei asked Usagi skeptically, making her stick her tongue out at him, which made his brow furrow. She reminded him of Duo.

"When someone predicts how, when and where something extremely important to you is going to happen, and it comes true? Trust me, I didn't believe before either, but I sure as hell believed after." Usagi answered, standing up and walking over to the kitchen attached to the room and grabbing a beer. "Either of you want one?"

Ami shook her head, but Wufei raised a hand, to which she threw one of the cans as a voice called out from nearly right behind her; "I'll take one too, gorgeous."

Usagi squeaked, and spun around to face the intruder, coming to face a man the same apparent age as Wufei, though she didn't know how old the Chinese man was, with violet eyes and a three-foot long braid.

"What the hell are you doing here Maxwell?" Wufei groaned out, as Usagi slowly handed the beer she had in her hand to him, before quickly spinning back around to grab one for herself. "And don't go scaring the shit out of the newbie, it's her day on-call, she's always packing. Hilde would kill all of us for letting her shoot you. She'd be out of work taking care of your damn business for you, since you'd be dead."

"Nah, Hilde gets the business if I die before I have kids. She'd be jumping for joy."Duo answered with shrug, striding over to plop in another chair as Usagi followed him back to sit on the couch.

"Tsukino, Maxwell. Maxwell, Tsukino." Wufei introduced curtly, making Duo grin at Usagi.

"She probably doesn't remember, but we've met all ready." he said, making Usagi pause and blink, before her eyes suddenly lit up with understanding.

"You're the one that oversees the engineering and maintenance trainees at the academy!" she said, hopping up to sit straighter.

"That's me, Duo Maxwell, at your service. I'm also the one that told Hiiro to go check out your performance at live-fire that day." he said, making Usagi grin and Wufei blink.

"I owe you, then? The shosa won't like me owing you one, you know." Usagi said with a laugh, before Wufei spoke up.

"Performance? Live-fire?" Wufei asked, "You took live-fire duties as a trainee?"

"Took them? She was running target for anti-terrorism and SWAT in her free time." Duo spoke up before Usagi could reply; "Hiiro didn't tell you? She took out eighteen AT guys in thirty-five minutes the day Hiiro watched her!"

"He exaggerates!" Usagi squeaked out, as Wufei and Ami turned to look at her in surprise.

"Not really. It was fifteen by your hand, and three by a trap that you had set after retrieving a few grenades from downed squad members." Hiiro said monotonously as he walked in through the same door Duo had, and poured himself a cup of coffee, motioning to the beer in Usagi's hand, as he continued. "Remember, Tsukino, only one of those when you're on-call."

"Yes, Shosa." she answered meekly, ducking her head as he came and sat in the only remaining spot in the room- the one right next to her on the couch.

"Why are you here Duo, you just got a good sized new group in at the academy. You normally don't leave it to the under-instructors for the first time until a good two months in." Hiiro asked, leaning back into the couch until he was as comfortable as he could be, it had been a long night. He didn't understand how Usagi, Wufei, and Duo could all ready be drinking at ten in the morning.

"Relena is making an appearance next week, Trowa and Quatre are on their way here too." Duo answered, "It's all hush-hush as to when she'll actually be getting here, but with the conference starting Monday and running for two weeks... She won't stay away, just because it's the first time it's been held in the colonies, and there are whispers spreading down to Brussels that there is a small but growing number that aren't happy up here."

"Une wants us to guard her, then?" Wufei asked, earning a nod from Duo.

"And she wants Doc Mizuno on hand, as well. Sally can't make it, her mother is in the hospital- they don't think she's going to make it very long. Heart attack."Duo explained, throwing a look at Wufei. "As for Usagi, here- Relena requests that 'if we could find it in our hearts to let someone be up to our standards, she would very much like to have a female included so that she didn't have to have a guy following her into the bathroom anymore.' That's pretty much what she said, anyway. Also something about some gala or another."

"The Diplomat's Ball. It's held the last night, you wanna know what the thing to wear to something fancy is? Watch _that_ red carpet." Usagi said, before grinning at the looks she received; "What? Just because I'm fairly decent at what I do, doesn't mean I can't be girly."

"Anyway, I figured Usagi here would be our best bet at agreeing on someone, since Hiiro picked her, I've seen her in action, and Wufei knows her too, and all." Duo finished, with a shrug as he looked away from Usagi to Hiiro and Wufei.

"I don't have any complaints. Yui?" Wufei said, looking over at Hiiro, who looked to be in thought.

"She's only run as back-up to one of us before. But I think she can handle it." Hiiro said, making Duo grin before cackling slightly.

"You know what this means right?" Duo asked, as Usagi's eyes lit up, and she jumped up to stand on the couch.

"SHOPPING!"

"I so knew that was coming." Duo said, as Hiiro rubbed his ear before grabbing Usagi's arm and pulling her back down to a sitting position.

"Why does it mean shopping?" Hiiro asked glumly, making Duo's grin spread.

"Sir, I know you haven't seen my closet but..." Usagi said, with a slight pout.

"If she's going to be ghosting Relena of all people, Yui, she's going to need clothes that blend in. Even I know that much." Wufei said; "And I will have nothing to do with a woman's shopping trip. I'm going to the dojo."

And with that, he left, heading off in the direction of their training facilities.

"Fine, I'll go get the card. Mizuno, please go with her and make sure she doesn't spend an arm and a leg." Hiiro practically groaned, before getting the hell out of Dodge. They had all learned their lessons about being dragged along on shopping trips during their time with Relena. It was hell, pure unholy hell.

The only one that didn't mind it too much was Duo, and they had all come to the conclusion long ago that it was only because he got to flirt with the salesgirls.

* * *

Usagi collapsed on the couch, her hands full of shopping bags, and Ami tiredly drug herself into the kitchen to make a new pot of coffee. 

"I got so much stuff! I love shopping..." Usagi sighed out, slipping her hands out of the handles of the shopping bags and sitting up on the couch.

"I'm exhausted. I don't think I've ever done that much shopping in one day." Ami murmured, drumming her fingers on the counter top. Usagi giggled, standing up and stretching her arms high above her head.

"Been a while, for me. Probably the last time I was in Tokyo, a year and a half ago. Now that is good shopping ground, what I would give to have a shopping trip there." Usagi sighed out, walking over to sit across the bar from where Ami was making coffee.

"It's awfully quiet in here, where do you think the others are?"Ami asked, grabbing two cups out of the cabinet, making Usagi shake her head.

"I don't know, Wufei is usually in here making his dinner around n-"

"You braided idiot!" came the irritated yell, interrupting Usagi and making her turn and blink in the direction of the showers.

"Well, that certainly sounded like Wufei, but-"Usagi started to say, but this time a shriek made it into the room breaking her off;

"Save meeeeeeeee!" Duo whined as he ran into the room and hid behind Ami, ducking down under cabinet level. Ami by this time was having a hard time holding her laughter in, while Usagi blinked in continuing confusion.

"This is Duo's first visit since you joined us, isn't it?" Ami asked her with a giggle, Usagi just nodded in response; "I thought so. Don't worry- you'll get used to it pretty quick. It happens at least once a day, everyday he's here."

"Mizuno! Tsukino! Have either of you seen that idiotic, weaker-than-an-onna Maxwell!?" Wufei yelled, hair dripping wet and barely pulled back into it's normal pony tail, storming into the room. Usagi turned, blinked once, and pointed to the doorway leading out to the courtyard.

Wufei immediately continued his storming in the direction she pointed.

"Is he gone?" Duo squeaked, popping up to look around the room.

"Yea. What'd you do to get Wufei that riled up?" Usagi asked curiously, blinking up at him as Ami passed a cup of coffee over to her.

"Cut the hot water when he was in the shower." Duo replied, grinning a little; "I think I'm the only one that can still piss him off that much. We're those kind of friends, y'know. Love-hate and all that. Anyways, I should probably go and _really_ hide."

With that Duo scrambled off the way he had come, leaving Usagi and Ami shaking their heads at him.

"Boys." Ami muttered.

"Boys, indeed." Usagi echoed, grinning at her before sipping from her coffee. "I should probably go take care of all that stuff, seeing as how I did some personal spending as well. Shosa will walk in, see all those bags, and have a heart attack before I can even say anything."

"Why will I have a heart attack?" Hiiro asked, coming in from the direction of the showers, clothed in only the pants of his field uniform, with a towel over one shoulder.

"From the amount of bags. Usagi spent some personal funds as well while we were out, so the amount is probably twice what you were expecting." Ami answered with a smile to Hiiro, seeing as Usagi was attempting to control her chin, and pull it back up to join the rest of her face.

Usagi thanked the gods that Hiiro was oblivious to her reaction, and she finally snapped her mouth shut, before smiling and nodding her ascent to Ami's explanation.

"Hn." Hiiro arched an eyebrow at them, before actually looking at the amount of shopping bags that lay on the floor. "Women. Crazy."

Usagi laughed at his muttered comment, standing and taking her coffee with her, stopping to collect her new belongings. "I'll be in the laundry for a while, probably want to tell Wufei not to attempt to resume his shower."

* * *

"Hey Wufei?" Duo asked from his position up in a high limb of one of the few trees on, or near, the base grounds. 

"What, Maxwell?" said Chinese man snapped from where he stood at the bottom of the tree.

"Why do you think Hiiro picked up Usagi? Why he even bothered to show up?" Duo asked; "'Cause I mean, I've told him about numerous trainees or other Preventers agents that I thought he might appreciate the skills of. Why do you think when he finally ended up listening to me it was some scrawny, fairly inexperienced young woman? And he actually picked her up!"

Wufei was silent a moment before he replied; "You're thinking into it too much, Maxwell."

"Maybe. I wish I could have been there- I watched the tapes after I heard, but it would have been cool to actually have been there. Maybe then I'd know." Duo mused, while Wufei just shook his head. Maxwell sure chose odd things to try and be insightful about.

"I'm going to go shower. If you ruin it again, you're loosing your braid. And I'll get Yui to help me." Wufei threw up the tree to the now-silent figure, before turning and walking back to the main living area.

* * *

Usagi knelt on the floor of the laundry room, book in hand as she waited for her last load of wash to finish. Lost in the text, she didn't notice that she wasn't alone in the room until Hiiro set his laundry basket down next to her, and himself next to it. 

"You're still in here?" he asked as his back slid down the wall, ignoring the small yelp she had given when the basket had hit the floor.

"Shosa! H-hai! Gomen ne, erm, I've probably used up all the hot water by now." Usagi apologized, running a hand through her loose, shoulder-blade length hair. "I hope it all fits in my closet..."

Hiiro chuckled at her words, making her stop, blink and then stare at him. "I'm serious! Between the things I got for this whole thing with Relena and the stuff I bought for my self... The amount of clothing I have has tripled." she pouted, Hiiro just smirked back at her.

"You'll be fine. Relena will stay in Quatre's mansion here. The closets there are bigger than your room here." he finally muttered with a shake of his head, making her giggle when she pieced together what he said.

"When are the other two supposed to get here? With her, or before?" Usagi asked, marking the page in her book before setting it down. "And what were their names again? I didn't really catch them."

"Quatre Winner and Trowa Barton. They're getting here tomorrow, Sunday. We're expecting the Prime Minister late on Monday." Hiiro explained; "Her arrival time could change at any moment, though."

Usagi nodded as the buzzer on the washer went off, and she stood to check her things in the dryer. "Have you met her before, Shosa? The P.M. that is, Maxwell made it sound as if you all were pretty familiar with her."

Hiiro silently watched her for a moment, as she checked her clothing, kneeling in front of the machine to pull them out to toss into an empty basket next to her.

"We all met during the Wars. I went to school with her for a brief time." he finally answered, looking away from her as she turned to pick up the basket and set it on the counter.

"I was eleven during the Eve Wars, twelve when the Marimeia Incident occurred." Usagi said softly, dropping the basket on the counter before walking back to the washer. "It seems like such a long time ago, now. My twenty-second birthday is next month."

"Hn..." Hiiro replied non descriptively, making her toss a sardonic grin his way.

"Don't want to think about how close you are to thirty, Shosa?" Usagi asked with a laugh, transferring her clothing from one machine to the other.

"I'm twenty-six. That's not terribly older than yourself, Tsukino." He retorted, grabbing his own basket and walking past her to wait.

Usagi blushed, ducking her head to quickly finish emptying the machine while it faded. "Gomen nasai, Shosa. I thought that well, you all just looked young. There weren't many teenagers that fought in the Wars and survived them."

"Do you speak Japanese to everyone?" Hiiro suddenly asked, scrunching his brow at her. Usagi looked up from her clothing, a smile on her face.

"No. Just to people who understand me. A one sided conversation isn't very fun."

"How did you know that I understand you? I've never spoken a word of it to you." he continued, truly confused by this time.

"I just did. Since I called you Shosa, that first time, I've known." she answered, straightening and blinking at him, "There was no hesitation when your mind heard the word. I could read it in your body language; everyone sends some kind of signal when they hear a word they do not understand, unexpectedly."

Hiiro stopped, and really looked at her as he asked; "You read body nuances that well?"

"Did you not look very closely at my file?" Usagi asked, before covering her mouth at his quirked eyebrow.

"I was learning how to be a negotiator in international situations in university, Sir. Hostile or cordial, Sir. As well being ever the social butterfly- I... I _know __**people**_, the instant I see someone, I can read their body language." she quickly explained, dropping her hands to clasp them behind her back in her nervousness.

"It's all right, Tsukino. I honestly didn't look at your file. I asked certain people certain questions, and they all gave good answers. By the end of your run in the live-fire, I had heard and seen enough to be interested." Hiiro said with a shrug, "It's as simple and as complicated as this: pretty much every instructor you ever had stopped by to talk to me about you that day, Tsukino."

Usagi beamed at him, and returned to loading her laundry into the dryer; "I loved all my instructors at the Academy, and I have a lot of respect for all of them. Which is kinda odd for me, my teachers before that... lets just say we didn't get along very well."

"That's why they're hired as instructors, Tsukino. Une knows what young people need from their trainers, and she knows that not everyone is the same. She and Lucrezia Noin set up a very specific system for which trainees get which instructors." he explained matter-of-fact-ly, making her smile as she shut the dryer and pressed the start button.

"So, we got anything started for tonight yet? Seeing as no one is on call after ten, so we can all drink, and it'll probably be our last free night for a while, and all."

"You remind me of Duo, and that worries me."

* * *

"Usagi, I think with Wufei and Hiiro having you around, they'll loosen up a lot more." Duo said, obviously buzzed but still completely coherent. 

"Why do you say that Duo?" Usagi asked, before taking the shot she had in her hand and tossing it back.

"Because," Duo said, pausing long enough for her to slam the shot glass down onto the bar top in front of them; "You actually got both of them to drink with us."

Duo turned and pointedly looked behind them where the aforementioned two, as well as Ami, were sitting in their rec room, in front of the big screen, and had turned a movie into a drinking game. "And they're actually enjoying themselves."

Usagi laughed, before grinning at Duo. "You want to play too, don't you?

"Very much so." Duo answered, making her laugh again, louder this time.

"I'll get another bottle, and we'll join them." Usagi replied, hopping down from her stool to walk around to the freezer and pull a bottle of tequila out, as Duo grabbed their shot glasses, before walking over to sit on the couch, both of them on either side of Hiiro. "So what are the rules?"

"Every time the onna says the unlucky man she's chasing's name, we drink." Wufei explained; "Every time she calls it out for no reason it's two."

"This chick sounds familiar." Duo snickered out, giving Hiiro a sideways look. Hiiro just grunted in response.

"Previous woman problems, Shosa?" Usagi asked in a fake-innocent voice, blinking her lashes when he glared at her. "What?"

"Hn."

Usagi giggled, before leaning over to fill the empty glasses on the table. "So what's the guy's name?"

"You'll know it when she says it." Wufei muttered, making her cock an eyebrow in his direction, just as a dainty, light, feathery, feminine voice came from the TV.

"Odin..."

Duo started cackling loudly, as the other three picked up their shot glasses, and downed the liquid within; Usagi following shortly after, before asking Duo; "What the hell is so funny?"

"Nothing! Inside thing, don't worry about it!" the man managed to choke out in between bellows of laughter.

"Duo." Hiiro grumbled.

"Y-yes?" he squeaked out, before stopping completely when he heard the safety of a gun being released. "Shutting up now."

Hiiro clicked the safety of his gun back on, satisfied, before it mysteriously disappeared to where ever it had come from. Usagi didn't see where he put it, even though she was sitting next to him, and watched him as he did so.

She was busted watching him, as well. Though he caught her so discreetly, their eyes locking for a long moment, that none of the others noticed. Even despite the strong blush that lingered as Usagi looked away, and busied herself with again refilling their glasses.

* * *

"I am so going to have a hangover tomorrow." Usagi muttered to herself as Hiiro helped her down the hall to her cubical called a room, as he headed to his own. 

"Make sure you start drinking water tonight." Hiiro recommended, opening her door for her. Usagi nodded, and instantly brought a hand to her head at the pain it caused.

"Shosa?"

"Hn?"

"May I have a moment of your time?" Usagi asked, stepping into her room before turning to look back at him.

"It can't wait until tomorrow, can it?" he asked in reply, and she smiled a slightly nervous smile at him.

"I would rather it didn't, Sir." she answered, and he paused a moment before nodding. Usagi's smile brightened at that and she stepped further into the room, Hiiro following and shutting the door- not fully, but enough that some privacy was insured.

"Are you sure I can handle this, Shosa? I mean, it's not like it's a big deal for me to participate. It was only a request, not a condition." Usagi said quietly, sitting down on her bed and looking up at him. Hiiro leaned against the wall, not even two feet from her. These damn rooms are too cramped.

"We'll be close by at all times, Tsukino. It'll be fine. And all the others guards for all of the other politicians will be around as well. We aren't expecting anything you won't be able to handle as her ghost." Hiiro stated, adding; "Besides, whenever I can be I will be right next to you."

Usagi smiled then, an exhausted smile, but a true smile anyway.

"Thank you, Shosa."

"Hn. Get some sleep, we've got an early day tomorrow." Hiiro said, turning for the door.

"Yes, Sir." she replied, standing up, and instantly being inches away from him. His hand was nearly to the door when he paused, turning to look at her again.

"Tsukino?" he asked, making her tilt her head at him in query; "Why did you look at me like you did? After I put my gun away."

Usagi stopped, her eyes going wide and her cheeks suddenly hot. She stared at him in silence for a moment, before realizing that he honestly didn't know.

"It'd be better if I didn't tell you why, Shosa." she said, looking away from him and down to her feet. "For the sake of my sanity, if not for yours."

"I would have you tell me Tsukino, else I'll just find out some other way." Hiiro prodded, "I'd rather not have to do that."

Usagi's blushed deepened, and she slowly raised her eyes to meet his. "You returned that look, you know. So, when you answer me, I will answer you; why did you look at me that way?"

* * *

Author's Note:  
Squee. Anyway... 

Only one note: I'm going to be changing the rating.

As much as I might try to deny it, I've got a dirty mouth and it leaks into my writing. It's really hard for me not to have anyone really cursing, and with the situations planned, it can't be avoided, not with me being the one doing the writing away. Also included in my reasoning; they're all adults, they're going to do things adults do. They're also soldiers and they're going to eventually be in intense situations where profanity is going to be, if not called for, at the very least somewhat expected from certain characters.

With that rant done and said, as of the next chapter, the rating will be going from "T" to "M" on the rating scale.

Thank you for the reviews, I hope everyone sticks with me through the long haul.

B'resheet

12/01/07 - 11:25:31 PM


	3. Chapter Two

Rise  
B'resheet

Normally, I'm not a big one for doing ANs at the beginning, but I figure I should get this in now.

After doing a bit more research, I went back and fixed something in the prologue. Usagi's rank as a trainee has been changed to Cadet First Captain. The rank of "Cadet First Captain " is taken from West Point tradition, and is the highest position in the Corps of Cadets. As a commissioned officer, Usagi's first rank will be Second Lieutenant.

On with the show.

Disclaimer: Insert standard disclaimer here. I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, including any and all characters or other trademarks associated with either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. I do however claim right to any original characters or original situations included in this story.

* * *

"_You returned that look, you know. So, when you answer me, I will answer you: why did you look at me that way?"_

Hiiro stopped at her words, dropping his hand from where it still hung, reaching for the door, to shove into his pocket, before looking down at his shoes. He mulled her words over in his mind, before turning that attention to himself. He had looked at her the same way? He had, but...

Why? Why had he looked at her like something deep in his mind was on fire? He knew what he had wanted to do once he had seen that deep fire in her own eyes, but...

"I'm attracted to you." Hiiro said simply, looking back up her, and finding surprise in her eyes. Her blush, which had finally started to cool off, flared up again and she turned her head to the side, unable to look up at him as she replied, very quietly.

"I couldn't hear you." He said, blinking at her murmured words, making her jump and look up at him.

"I'm attracted to you, too. That's why I looked at you like that." she repeated after a moment of silence, crossing one arm over her chest to grab onto the other, nervously fiddling with the fabric of her sweater. "I should go to bed now."

"Hn..." Hiiro nodded, slowly, pulling his hand out of his pocket and reaching for the door. It was Usagi that stopped his movement this time, however.

"Shosa?"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure?" Usagi asked, making him blink at her.

"I all ready said, you'll be fine-" he started to say, but was cut off by a shake of her head.

"No, not about that, about- about..." she tried to explain when he paused, but couldn't finish the sentence.

"About me being attracted to you?" he finished for her, and Usagi nodded quickly, looking down at her feet.

Hiiro turned to face her fully, and hesitantly reached out to tilt her chin up with a finger, answering when she was once again looking at him. "Yes. If you're going to ask if that's why I decided to recruit you, don't worry. It's not."

"Okay. Thank you." she said with a firm nod, smiling at him.

"Get some sleep." he said, before turning back and leaving the room, shutting the door softly behind himself.

Usagi dropped herself down on to her bed as soon as the door was shut.

"_Fuck_... How am I ever going to be able to look him in the face again?" she wondered out loud, covering her face with her hands, and shaking her head.

* * *

Usagi silently slipped into the rec room the next morning- bright, early and fully dressed except for her wet hair still wrapped up in a towel. She paused at the sight of Hiiro alone in the kitchen, waiting on the coffee pot, completely dressed and ready for the day. 

Excluding the required cup of coffee, of course.

Usagi smiled at Hiiro as she slipped into one of the stools across from him, "Good morning, Shosa."

"Morning. Want some?" he asked, and she nodded, making him grab another cup from the cabinet. "How's your head."

"A lot better than it should be." she replied, reaching out and wrapping her long fingers around the empty vessel. Usagi, still unsure of herself after the words they had exchanged last night, watched him from the cover of her eyelashes as he filled her cup, and then his, as soon as the maker had finished.

"I should apologize." Usagi said quietly, after a moment, making Hiiro blink slowly in confusion. "For last night. Somethings are better left unsaid."

With that she picked up her cup, sipped from it, before turning to leave. Wanting to leave before she said anything more.

"Tsukino." Hiiro said, stopping her before she even got out of her seat. With an inaudible sigh she turned around to face him.

"Yes, Sir?" she asked, looking back up at him, the uncertainty in her eyes apparent even to him.

"There's no need to apologize. It's better that we know, even if we can't do anything about it." he said, surprising her, making her unconsciously settle down into her seat.

"You sound like you know from experience, Shosa." Usagi said, smiling softly at him, and it was his turn to blink.

"I suppose. From a time when I was not quite as... aware of things, you could say." he muttered with a shake of his head, and she grinned sardonically at him.

"Boys are pretty thick about such things for a very long time, and girls understand it, but they throw it way out of proportion for just as long." she said in way of reply, "Some longer than others, as well."

"You can say that again." Hiiro grunted out, taking a drink of his own coffee, and Usagi laughed fully at his words.

"You know what I speak of! Those woman problems Duo hinted at last night?" she giggled out, as Duo dragged himself into the kitchen, grabbed the biggest mug they had, and poured himself a very large cup of coffee.

"I heard my name. What'd I do this time?" he wearily grumbled out, taking several large gulps before dropping his head onto the counter.

"Nothing, Duo." Hiiro answered, and Usagi giggled, earning herself a glare from him.

"Hungover, Duo?" she asked sweetly, shrugging off his look easily, and reaching across to softly pet Duo's hair.

"Yeeeees." Duo practically cried in answer, earning an "Awww." from Usagi, and a continuance of the tips of her fingers raking through his hair. This earned her a look from Hiiro that was half-way between anger and amusement at her audaciousness, at the giving of her affection to one of his best friends when she knew that he wanted it. If not in view of another, then in the privacy that was impossible for them to attain.

Usagi looked up at him slyly, a smirk playing on her lips, and her posture showing a sudden confidence in herself.

The exchange was not missed, but wisely, Duo kept his mouth shut for once. Pretended he hadn't seen the exchange between commander and subordinate.

"If you keep that up, Usagi, I will kiss the ground you walk on." Duo sighed out, making Usagi giggle and stop, to which he pouted at.

"Drink lots of water, take an aspirin, and then go take a shower. You'll be fine, Duo." she advised, as he straightened up, and took another gulp of coffee. "Or we can make you a Prairie Oyster, but that doesn't seem like it'd be your thing."

"How does a youngster like you know how to get over hangover?" Duo asked in a jokingly skeptical manner, to which Usagi cackled at.

"I was a college student once, Duo! I learned the first time I woke up with a hangover on the day of a test!" she managed to giggle out, before picking her cup off of the counter, hopping off her seat, and giving them a small wave. "I've gotta dry my hair. Bai."

Both of them watched her retreating form, Duo looked away to turn to Hiiro as she left the room, giving him a slap on the back. "Be careful, man, that's dangerous ground you're walking on."

"Anywho, I'm going to go take her advice and find a bottle of aspirin." Duo said before quickly wondering back off, before Hiiro could reply to his comment.

"_Shit_."

* * *

"You pissed Yui off this morning. What'd you do?" Wufei asked Duo from his position in the driver's seat of their car, following Hiiro and Usagi, who were both on motorcycles. 

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." Duo said, glancing into the review mirror to look at Ami in the back seat.

"Maxwell, hardly anything you do pisses him off anymore. What'd you do?" Wufei continued, irritated, speeding up as Hiiro and Usagi suddenly cut through a lull in traffic to race a head.

"I'll tell you later, if you still want to know. Just focus on keeping up with those two suicidal maniacs." Duo said, watching as the pair quickly navigated traffic, until they where several cars in front of them.

"Maxwell. If I tried to keep up with Yui on a bike, I'd get us killed." Wufei replied, gripping the steering wheel. "Now. Mizuno won't go running her mouth about your stupidity, so what did you do?"

"I made a comment on Hiiro's stupidity!" Duo finally bit off, frustrated at his friends bullheadedness.

"Hiiro's stupidity? What did he do?" Wufei asked, honestly confused, turning and blinking at Duo. Duo paused, before turning around to face Ami.

"Sorry, Doc, but could you cover your ears. Just for a moment, please?" Duo asked, making Ami roll her eyes at him, but she did as he asked, and he turned to look at Wufei, settling back into his seat.

"Our fearless leader is lusting after the newest addition. I'm pretty sure anyway."

"He's_what_?! That son of a bitch! He finally gets a hard-on for a woman, and it's a subordinate." Wufei growled loudly, "I can't believe him."

"The bad thing is, she's returning the favor." Duo continued, "They'll behave themselves for a while, I'm sure, but if they break down and Une finds out, she'll flip. You can only get away with that kind of shit in the civilian sector, man."

"I know. Fuck." Wufei muttered under his breath, "Do you think it will effect his judgment?"

"No. I know Hiiro well enough to say that much, no- he won't let it affect him. He's been a 'leave no one behind' type since the end of the Wars, anyways, so there's not much to affect in that area. And he won't leave her out of something she's needed in, either- he's not stupid, and she would kick his ass." Duo defended, and Wufei nodded.

"Okay. We'll just wait and see then. Not anything we can do until something actually happens, anyways." he sighed out in reply, as Duo turned to tell Ami to unplug her ears.

* * *

Usagi leaned against the side of the small privet hanger where she and Hiiro waited for Quatre's shuttle to land, and for the others to catch up to them, helmet tucked under one arm, the hand of the other twisting a lock of her hair in thought. 

It wasn't very coherent thought, but it was thought none the less, as her mind mulled over everything from what she wanted for lunch to why her commanding officer had to be so damn good looking. With a sigh, Usagi raised her eyes up from the pavement to look over to her side at Hiiro, who sat on his motorcycle, own helmet in hand, staring up at the paneled ceiling of the colony.

She realized he was looking back at her belatedly, as her mind had once again wondered off to various other related subjects. With a blush and a flash of a smile she looked away, returning to her study of the tarmac.

"Does it bother you? How often you look at me, only to find me staring at you?" Usagi timidly asked, not looking up.

"Not particularly. You don't look at me with some impossible dream in your eyes, so I don't really have a reason to be." he answered, as Wufei, Duo, and Ami pulled up, parking next to their bikes.

"What do you mean?" she asked, but Hiiro shook his head in response.

"Nothing." he said, standing from his bike and setting his helmet on the seat.

"When are they supposed to get here, Yui?" Wufei asked, slamming his door shut behind him as he got out from the car.

"Less than five minutes." Hiiro replied, checking his watch.

"You think they've changed much? I haven't seen either one in over a year." Duo commented, hands in his pockets.

"Not really, Yui and I saw them last month. Neither one of them has ever changed." Wufei replied, as a sudden sound of engines came from the ground below them, and then moved into the hanger behind them, forcing silence as none of them, Duo and Usagi included, could yell loud enough to speak over the sound echoing from the hanger.

The engines finally cut, and the group made their way into the hanger as the steps were lowered from the shuttle.

From the shuttle emerged two men, one significantly taller than the other, and a young blonde woman who was just behind them, talking animatedly to the blond male. Usagi blinked at the woman, before letting out a sudden whoop.

"_Mina-chan_!" she said with a squeal, making the woman look up, and she instantly beamed at Usagi.

"Usa-chan! What are you doing here?" she asked, as the two groups approached each other. "You never got me your address at the academy! Did your parents forward my communications to you?"

"Hai, hai! I'm sorry I never got back to you, I never had a moment of free time until I came up here." Usagi answered, giving her friend a brief hug. "What are you doing in this neck of the woods? All ready finished with university?"

"Most of the way. I finished my bachelor's a month ago, now I'm working for Mister Winner here while I do my M.B.A." Minako answered smiling at the blond next to her; "Mr. Winner, this is Usagi Tsukino- we were in school together, before I moved to London."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir." Usagi said with a bow of her head, Quatre smiled brightly at her.

"Certainly, Lieutenant Tsukino. You must be Hiiro's new squad member, yes? I wish I could have been there, Trowa and I watched the recordings after Duo told us." he replied, making Usagi turn a blank, unblinking stare at Duo.

"Can you not keep your mouth shut?" she muttered at him, her cheeks slightly red; "Making a big deal out of nothing!"

"So modest!" Minako giggled, before holding her hand out to Duo, as he was the closest to her. "Minako Aino, it's nice to meet you...?"

Duo grinned and shook Minako's hand; "Duo Maxwell, very nice to meet you."

Usagi looked away from them with a roll of her eyes and a murmured, "She's still a flirt."

Quatre laughed, and even Trowa, still silent, grinned slightly.

"You brought an assistant, Quatre? What happened to never having a twenty-four hour assistant?" Wufei asked, cocking an eyebrow in the businessman's direction.

"I gave up! Minako isn't just an assistant, either, she has a BA in business administration. I'm prepping her as a V.P." Quatre explained with a laugh, running a hand through his messy blond hair, before smiling at Hiiro and Wufei. "It's good to see you again, wish it could always be this often."

"Hn. You have the details on Relena's flight?" Hiiro replied with a nod, and Trowa handed him a slim case with a CD inside. Hiiro slipped the CD into his pocket; "We've all ready sent all our equipment over to your mansion. And Tsukino is going to be ghosting Relena, with me as her partner, per her request."

Trowa cocked an eyebrow in Hiiro's direction, before glancing over at the petite woman that had been pulled into Minako and Duo's conversation. "She can handle it?"

"She can handle it." Hiiro answered, before their conversation was interrupted by Minako giggling and peering at Wufei and Hiiro.

"She done her creepy little trick on either of you yet?" Minako asked, making Usagi nudge her in the side.

"What?" Wufei asked, bewildered by the odd, bubbly blonde, while Hiiro just stared at her.

"Has she read your mind yet?"

"Minako! I don't read _minds_, I read _**body language**_!" Usagi sputtered out, exasperated by her friends antics, as Duo grinned behind them.

"Whatever, you might as well be reading minds." Minako waved off, with a smile, as she glanced at her watch. "We should probably get going. Lady Une said she would call 1300 standard time, that's only thirty minutes away."

"Of course, of course. Let's get going." Quatre said, shooing everyone towards the vehicles. "Someone should be here with our car at any second."

* * *

"This place is huge!" Usagi squealed as she pulled her helmet off, after parking her motorcycle in front of Quatre's mansion. 

"This is his smallest one." Hiiro muttered, from beside her, hanging his helmet on his handle bars. "His largest is his permanent home in L4."

"I've heard that one might as well be it's own colony." Usagi commented, setting her helmet on her seat and walking up to stand at the bottom of the steps leading up to the front porch and entry.

"Hn..." Hiiro just grunted, and Usagi stuck her tongue out at him over her shoulder as the others pulled up behind them.

"You should talk more." Usagi said softly to him, "You know, actually say things."

With that she turned and skipped over to slip an arm into Minko's. "So who's giving me the grand tour?"

Minako giggled, "I need one, as well, I haven't been here yet."

"Come then, we'll find out where the servants but everyone at, and I'll show you where everything is before Lady Une calls." Quatre offered with a smile, before leading them inside, a few men streaming out of the building to collect the things from Quatre's car.

* * *

Usagi stood in the closet of her room, buds in her ears as she bobbed her head to the music pumping from her mp3 player. Hiiro had been right, the space she was currently putting her things away in was at least as large as her room on base, and the bedroom itself was as large as the apartment she had shared with Rei in Tokyo. Most of her things had all ready been hung in the space, as they had arrived in garment bags- the things for when she was standing behind Relena in meetings. Suits, skirts, and so forth. 

"Usa?" came the call from her room, and Usagi pulled one of the bud from her ear.

"Yes?" she called back, walking out of the closet to find Minako looking for her, her head peering from her door.

"There you are! May I bug you? The guys are all in some privet video conference with Lady Une, Doctor Mizuno is getting to know the nurses on staff, and I'm bored." Minako asked, earning a smile and a laugh from Usagi.

"Of course, come in, have a seat. I'm all most finished." Usagi said, pressing the stop button of her player, and wrapping the cords of the earphones around her neck. "How have you been doing, Mina?"

"Pretty good." Minako said, slipping into the room and settling onto Usagi's bed, running her fingers over the surface of Usagi's unrolled 'tool kit' as Hiiro called it. "Working for Mr. Winner is hard, but he's a good teacher, and everyone at the company is very nice. What about you? I saw the live-fire run you made, that got you your placement, I didn't know it was you when I saw it though."

"Duo must have told everyone he knew about that. I can't believe he made such a big deal out of it." Usagi complained, returning to her task at hand. "I got my black-belt from Rei's father shortly before I left for Brussels, which is in my file! I know how to fight hand-to-hand. Meh."

Minako giggled, tucking a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "Come now, how are you actually doing?"

Usagi sighed, and stepped up to stand in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

"Same. Good, but working hard. And dealing with wanting to kiss my superior officer every time I'm alone with him." Usagi said, staring up at the ceiling; "I am seriously screwed in the head, Mina."

Usagi turned, and stepped back into the closet, leaving Mina staring after her; "You mean Major Yui?"

"Yes."

"Oh hell, Usa. Does he know?" Minako asked, leaning forward and resting her palms on the edge of the bed.

"Yes. I told him." came the slow answer from the closet and Minako slipped off the bed in her surprise.

"Ow!" she yelped, standing and walking over to stand in the door way, so that she could look at her friend; "What did he say?"

"He told me first." Usagi replied with a sigh, putting her jeans and uniform pants in a drawer as Minako stared at her in shock.

"Major Yui told you he wanted to kiss you?" Minako asked, once she was finally able to get her vocal cords to work.

"His exact words were "I'm attracted to you," but yes. Basically. I think he wants to do more than that, but I'm not sure." she answered, confusion in her voice, as she dropped the flap of her duffel bag shut. "You can't tell a soul, Mina. If administration finds out, we would both be in deep shit."

Minako nodded her understanding, following Usagi back into the bedroom, and joining her when she sat on the bed.

"What are you going to do?" Minako asked Usagi softly, staring her directly in the eye, reading the sparks of emotion that flew threw them. One thing she saw, in particular, made her frown and tell her sternly; "You are going to have to do something eventually, Usagi."

"I'll worry about it when the time comes. Right now, there are bigger things that I have to worry about." Usagi said with a sigh, "Like the fact that I'm going to have to stand through hours of political meetings for the next two weeks."

"I heard you were 'ghosting' the Prime Minister, what does that mean exactly?" Minako asked, making Usagi look up at her and blink.

"I forgot, sometimes, that not everyone understands the words we use. I'm going to be her primary side-guard, her shadow." she explained, rolling up the canvas bag that held her primary firearm, as well as a set of lock picks and other such things that made up her tool kit. "Her last line of defense."

"Wow. That's a pretty hefty assignment for a new graduate." Minako whispered, and Usagi nodded.

"Everyone seems to think I can handle it, though."

* * *

Usagi sat, facing Quatre's chef, in his huge kitchen, a cup of coffee sitting on the bar top separating them. 

"What're we having for dinner?" Usagi asked, making him smile at her; "Lunch was wonderful, by the way."

"Thank you. With how busy Master Quatre and his associates are, it will probably much of the same sort. Grab and go." he answered, and she nodded, picking up her cup and sipping from it.

"Have you known Mister Winner a long time?" she asked curiously, resting her chin against the rim on her cup.

"I've been working for his family since before he was born. All most thirty years." he replied, and she blinked at him in surprise.

"Wow." she murmured, before drifting into silence, slowly slipping away at her coffee until Hiiro walked into the room and took the seat next to her.

"Coffee please, Michael." Hiiro grumbled, making the chef nod and motion to one of the younger men in the area next to him to fulfill the request. Hiiro mumbled his thanks when the cup was passed across to him, and he took a long slow swig of it before standing and saying to Usagi; "I need to speak with you."

She looked up at him and blinked, before she stood and followed him out of the room and into the empty halls; most of the people working in Quatre's home were gone, out shopping to restock various needed supplies for as many guests as they were going to be hosting, or were on their day off.

"Shosa?" Usagi asked, after they had been walking in silence for a few moments, and had stopped at the large windows overlooking the garden. "What did you want to speak to me about, Sir?"

Hiiro silently studied her out of the corner of his eye, she was dressed comfortably- a simple white tank top, with a well fitting pair of sweatpants, hair messily pulled back and pinned up by means of a pencil stuck in her hair. Her cup of coffee held only by her fingers gripping the rim.

"Duo knows, and I wrung it out of him that he told Wufei, as well." Hiiro stated simply, and Usagi immediately switched the grip on her cup till she held the vessel securely. "He promised not to tell another soul, but knowing Duo..."

Usagi nodded, her posture going tense, and it took her a moment to speak through tight lips; "Thank you for letting me know, Shosa."

"Call me by my name, Tsukino, even Mizuno calls me by my first name." he muttered, and she blinked up at him.

"But Ami is a doctor. And she's older than you. She can get away with it." she stuttered out, with a shake of her head; "I couldn't Sir, it wouldn't be proper."

Hiiro echoed her movements, shaking his head at her reply.

"Call me by name." he repeated, and she gave him a lopsided grin at his instance.

"If you will call me 'Usagi' instead of 'Tsukino', then I will call you by name." she retorted, setting her cup on the large window sill, before sitting down on it herself. "And before you reply to that, remember that Wufei at the very least will give you weird looks for calling me by my first name."

"Fine." Hiiro answered with what Usagi thought was a roll of his eyes, "I'll leave it be."

With a giggle at his reply, Usagi turned to look out the windows at the lush garden before her. They stood, and sat, like that in silence for quite a while, before she softly broke the comfortable air that surrounded them.

"You could always use my first name in privet, though."

Hiiro looked down at her, her eyes hadn't moved, and he would have thought she hadn't said a word, except for the pink that tinted her cheeks.

"I would have to use your name in privet as well, then." she continued, finally looking up at him, before smiling suddenly and changing the subject.

"Want to spar? I need activity."

* * *

Author's Note: 

Muwaha. I'm on a roll.

I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

Anyway, for those of you that don't know, a Prairie Oyster is one of the craziest things ever thought of to get rid of hangover (in my opinion) and includes a raw egg yolk and Worcestershire sauce primarily, and some other things depending on the recipe you use. Don't break the yolk!

B'resheet

12/02/07 - 10:38:22 PM


	4. Chapter Three

Rise  
B'resheet

Disclaimer: Insert standard disclaimer here. I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, including any and all characters or other trademarks associated with either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. I do however claim right to any original characters or original situations included in this story.

* * *

Usagi stood under the hot spray of her shower, rinsing away the sweat from her workout with Hiiro. It had been more difficult than any other sparring match she had been in, including against Rei's father. And she hadn't won, not once. She had always held her own, staying in it for a long stretch of time, but in the end Hiiro had won every one. 

Blinking her eyes open, she stared at the large granite tiles that covered the shower's walls, it had been a while since she had lost that thoroughly to anyone. It irked her, to say the least, but she had learned from the session.

With a sigh, Usagi turned the water off before stepping out of the glass enclosure, slipping a towel from the bars next to her, and wrapping it around herself. With a glance at the clock she moved into her assigned bedroom, it was all ready 0100, Colony Time. Sleep was the last thing on her mind, though, as she briskly dried herself off before pulling on a pair of flannel pants and a tank top.

Grabbing her laptop bag from where it sat by the door, Usagi walked over to the small writing desk next to the French doors that led out to a balcony. She slipped her laptop from it's bag, and set it on the desk, flipping it open and turning it on before opening one of the doors and walking out to lean against the railing, arms crossing on it, and breathing in the night air, even if it was a simulated night air, as she drifted off into thought.

She didn't see, or hear, Hiiro emerge from his room next to her own onto his balcony. He took advantage of it for a moment, studying her profile in the dim light. She was beautiful, no one could deny that, but it wasn't a normal beauty, either. Her silver blonde hair aged her, even as her wide pale blue eyes made her seem younger by years.

Those eyes did not give her an appearance of innocence, though. If one was able to look at her just briefly, they might think that, but if one actually looked into her eyes... Hiiro wondered, what had happened, that gave her eyes a millennium old soul, in less than a quarter of a century?

"Did you hear my conversation with Wufei the other day?" She said, turning to look at him him, the moment the thought had finished in his mind.

"When we were talking about my friend, who tells fortunes?" Usagi asked as she moved over so to stand directly across from him.

"Most of it, yes." Hiiro answered, and Usagi nodded absently. Why was she asking him this?

"The thing she predicted to me, that made me believe..." she murmured, looking down at her hands; "Was that I would get engaged, and that he would leave me. She gave the exact date, time, and place where it would happen. Where I would find out."

"I didn't believe her, of course, what teenage girl with a head full of dreams of love would want to believe that? And of course, she had never correctly predicted any other girl's love life. As far as I knew, she could only get so far before failing.

"I got engaged when I was seventeen, right before he left to finish medical school in the American Territories." Usagi paused then to let out a sigh, "The day before my high school graduation, I got a letter from him. I waited to read it, for some reason, until my daily walk through the park. He dumped me in a letter, didn't even bother to vidphone. It wasn't until afterwards that I realized that Rei had been right, down to the minute. That she can only predict unhappy endings when it comes to love."

"She told me my fortune again, before I left for Brussels. She told me, that I would be important- that I would do something important. That I could save many people, but before I could, I would have to give up everything important to me. Family, friends, honor, loyalty... every oath, personal and public, that I ever gave. I would have to give up myself. The one for the many." Usagi said, brushing her hair from her eyes; "Will you answer me this, do I believe it, and try to prevent it? Or do I deny it, and hope that she was wrong?"

Hiiro understood, then, that somehow she had heard his silent question. Body language?

No, it hadn't been that. Words had spilled from her lips before she had even looked at him.

"What matters more to you, the lives of people or the preservation of self?" Hiiro asked her, and she smiled lightly at him.

"The lives, of course."

"Then why not keep a weary eye, while making the most of your life? If it never happens, then you will laugh on your death bed at the craziness of it, but if it does- you will be thankful that it did not surprise you, and that you were able to pack as much into the time you had." he offered with a shrug, and her smile brightened at his words.

"Thank you, truly, Hiiro. I needed to hear that."

"Hn. Go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day." he grunted out, and she laughed, features returning to their normal brightness.

"Fine, I'll go." she said, turning but throwing over her shoulder; "Good night, Hiiro... And no, it wasn't body language."

And her door was closed, as he stared after her in rare wonder.

* * *

"What?" Minako asked in a whisper, blinking at Usagi as the two of them stood once more in Usagi's room; it was seven A.M. Colony Time, and Minako had come to collect her friend for breakfast. Usagi however, had pulled her fellow blonde into the room, and shut the door after her. 

Then she had said two words that stopped Minako's heart, even without further explanation she knew of what her friend spoke.

"Hiiro knows. He knows I'm not normal, Minako. I heard him, thinking about me, asking a question in his mind- and I started answering it before I could even think about it, before I even turned and let him know I knew he was there." Usagi answered, dropping her hands to her sides; "I always hated it when you would joke, because I was worried that somehow you would let it slip, and here I am... I did it a second time, as well, Minako, right afterwards! If he still thinks I'm normal, I will eat nothing but carrots for the rest of my life!"

"Does he know about the rest of us? About Rei and me..." Minako asked, Usagi firmly shook her head no.

"I would never! He knows about what Rei all ready flaunts, but that's it." she whispered, "I know that if the wrong people found out, we'd end up in some lab somewhere, having tests run on us for the rest of our lives. I won't condemn others by my stupidity."

It was strange, the connection the three girls had. Rei, Minako, and Usagi had all known instinctively the first time they experienced their strange talents that they were not something to be shared. All three had kept themselves in solitude, despite Minako and Usagi's shared extroversion, fearing the strange things in their minds as young children. They had also immediately known of each other's abilities, the first time one of them looked the other in the eye. They had been so young, so open, so unguarded, that being confronted with another sense as strong as their own had been so unsettling, that it could not be ignored.

Within hours the three had become inseparable, and when years later Minako's family moved for her father's job, it had been as if a piece of their souls had been torn.

Usagi had never even told Mamoru about her talent...

Minako took hold of Usagi's hand and led her further into the bedroom, settling them both down onto her bed. With a deep breath, Minako said; "I think you need to start thinking about what you are going to do about your situation with Major Yui, Usa."

"Mina..."

"Don't 'Mina' me, Usa. Not now, just listen to someone who's talent lies in a slightly more subtle area, please?" Minako pleaded, and Usagi sighed- but nodded her consent none the less. "You gave him a piece of you, that you never even gave Mamoru, why?"

"Because I trust him. More than I did Mamoru, I guess. Mamoru was so..." Usagi drifted off, and Minako snorted.

"Mamoru was a lot of things, Sweetie. Most of the things that come to my mind are not complementary." she commented, and Usagi giggled, before Minako continued; "Why do you trust Major Yui more?"

"You can't feel it? Hiiro radiates with secrets, Mina. His own personal secrets. They constantly cloud his mind, I can tell without even trying when he thinks about them. But he guards them, deeper than we guard ourselves, Mina." Usagi said, before sighing and looking at her hands; "I don't know if you'll understand, but... I trust those secrets. I trust what those secrets mean to him, that he should guard them so closely."

Minako studied her friend closely, in more ways than one, probing her sense where Usagi would allow her to probe. Minako dealt purely in feelings, compared to Usagi's forte for complete thought including the emotion behind it, but Minako's understanding of emotion was more detailed; more complex.

"_Why?_" Minako finally asked, unable to pick apart enough of Usagi's current emotions to perceive any kind of answer.

"I don't know." Usagi said bluntly; "It's just something about him, Mina."

* * *

"What time does Relena's flight get here?" Duo asked as he and the other pilots, as well as Usagi and Ami, sat in Quatre's study just after breakfast. Everyone was strangely subdued, and all attempts at planning and conversation had ultimately failed. 

"1800 Colony Time. All of her aides and so forth will be arriving with her." Hiiro muttered in answer, as Usagi went over the passenger and flight crew lists. All the names had been quadruple checked all ready, of course, but there was something that didn't seem right about it.

"What is up with this 'guests' spot in the roster?" she asked looking up at Hiiro with a blink; "That doesn't seem right."

"Relena typically invites policymakers that she's either friends with, or is trying to make a deal with, to fly with her when they are traveling to the same destination. They're just reserved spots." Quatre explained with a shake of his head; "As of our last update, none of them have been taken for this trip."

Usagi nodded her understanding as she turned back to the list, commenting; "Are we sure we are going to have enough cars?"

* * *

"Hiiro. I got the final passenger list. Relena is bringing someone with her." Trowa spoke quietly, looking up at him from his laptop. The two of them sat in Quatre's library, going over final paperwork, and Usagi was wondering among the massive amounts of shelves with Ami. 

"Who is it?" Hiiro asked, standing and walking around to look over his shoulder.

"A doctor. Chiba, Mamoru; age twenty-seven- Japanese national, recent John Hopkins graduate, valedictorian, according to this. Works for the World Health Organization. Also a purported pacifist." Trowa read off from the brief background report they had been sent.

"Nani?" Usagi asked from behind them, her voice a startled squeak. "Mamoru?"

"You know him, Tsukino?" Hiiro asked, and Usagi slowly nodded; her eyes becoming clouded and confused.

"He was my fiancée, Shosa." she explained softly, her choked and wrenched tone making Ami glance worriedly at her fellow officer. Ami could tell that she was blindly searching for something to hold on to, and was about to place a hand on her shoulder, when she suddenly felt a tension she hadn't sensed before break, and Usagi blinked confusedly despite the smallest of smiles on her lips.

Hiiro didn't know what he had done, just that he had felt something cool and silver desperately reaching... and he had grabbed on, and held tight. He saw Usagi smile at him, and he understood that something had changed.

Hiiro braced himself against Trowa's chair, shaking his head, but playing it off as if everything was just fine, that he hadn't just felt someone _in his head_... he was going nuts, he had to be.

"Do I have to worry about any issues popping up?" he asked, as she finished collecting herself.

"No, Sir. I'm not seventeen anymore." she replied with a quirky grin, which he easily returned, despite the sudden static-feeling in his head.

"Good. I am in dire need of a cup of coffee." he grunted, nodding towards Usagi; "I want to hear more about Doctor Chiba. I've never heard his name connected to anyone before."

"Yes, Sir." Usagi replied meekly, sliding the book she held back into the shelves and following Hiiro out of the room.

Trowa stood as they left, placing his laptop down on the table in front of him and walking over to where Usagi had stood. Running his finger over the spines quickly until he found the one he was looking for, he plucked it from the shelves.

"What are you doing?" Ami asked curiously, trying to get a look at the title of the book, as he flipped it open to Title and By pages.

"Theory of the Mind, a philosophical and scientific look at the so-called 'sixth-sense'." Trowa read off, before looking at the contributors; "There are some significant names listed here."

"Was Usagi looking at that?" Ami murmured, the slightest hint of worry in her eye.

* * *

"Shosa, please, if you really want that cup of coffee I'll grab it for you- but I think you should go to your room." Usagi begged softly, looking up at Hiiro in worry from under her eyelashes. He was getting paler every minute. "You're starting to look like a ghost, Shosa, please." 

"You're not getting out of talking to me, Tsukino." Hiiro said, his vocal cords tight. Usagi shook her head, her braided hair swinging with the motion.

"I'm not trying to, Sir. I'm just concerned for my commanding officer's well being." she said, after pausing as a servant walked by them. "I'll get two cups, and you can drill me on whatever you want. You don't look well, Shosa."

Hiiro noticed, with a slow realization as they walked, that there had been something different in how she called him 'Shosa', not with how she actually said it, but her undertone. It was no longer his title, to her, it was a nickname. Something personal, very personal.

And yep. He was definitely going mad, because he didn't mind it one bit.

"Go get the coffee, I'll meet you up there."

* * *

"What did I do?" Hiiro asked, from where he sat on his bed. His head was still fuzzy, but now in the quiet wing of bedrooms, it was much easier to bare. Usagi dragged over his computer chair -she could tell that this had been designated "his" room for some time now- and plopped down into it, careful of her coffee. 

Throwing her legs over one arm and sitting in it sideways, obviously comfortable despite the odd situation they were in, she replied; "I don't know exactly what you did, but some how you responded to me not being able to control myself...

"You know, of course, that humans normally only use a small chunk of our brain's capabilities. Sure, there has been some small increase since the first time it was documented, but still..." Usagi let out a sigh, "As far as the research has gone- my brain uses a larger chunk in a very specific area. Giving me my so-called 'sixth-sense', my ability to hear what people are thinking."

"By research you mean that they have actually done official research on this?" Hiiro asked, and Usagi nodded shyly taking a sip of her coffee before continuing.

"Some of my, I guess you would say sisters, and I got into contact with a very well thought of university scientist who was doing research on the subject. We offered to help, on the condition that he would _never_release our identities to anyone without the consent of all three of us. We wanted to know why it happened to us, of course. And all three of us had different talents. Unique in their own specific ways."

"How many people are like this?" he asked, and Usagi shook her head.

"I don't know for sure, I only know of three- myself, and my two compatriots." Usagi answered, setting her cup on the seat, using one hand to hold it while she propped her chin on the other.

They sat there, looking at each other but lost in thought, until she asked as quietly as a breath; "How did you do it?"

Hiiro just shook his head, unable to explain. She nodded, understanding; "How is your head?"

"Better. Quiet." he replied, running a hand through his hair. "Normal."

Usagi let out a sigh, one that sounded so relieved that Hiiro looked directly into her eyes as she said; "Good. Maybe it was just a one time thing..."

"Why do you say it like that, Usagi?"

"It's a curse. You don't want to Hear, like I Hear, Shosa." she whispered, looking down into the dark liquid in her cup, funny- she normally hated black coffee, but ever since she had come up to this place, it'd been all she had.

Hiiro could instantly tell when her attention suddenly wained, and he shook his head at her actions before asking; "And about Chiba- is he really a pacifist?"

"He's a gutless, stupid, coward is what he is." she growled out as her attention suddenly snapped back to him; "Wouldn't have the courage to try and save even a child from anything."

He nearly winced at her harsh description of him; "Is that from your anger at him or an honest opinion."

Usagi sighed, and shook her head; "Not from anything. He'd only do something if it involved tests, tubes and medication. If it came to something physical I am in high doubt though, not like he doesn't want to, or anything. What I mean is... Chiba was slim by all means, but he wasn't physically strong, Hiiro. He was also fairly hesitant in his decision making."

"I'm going off of about five year old information, though." she concluded, "He prefers talk and paper to everything, from what I know of him."

Hiiro nodded, and they slipped into silence once more, watching each other from under lashes and corners of eyes.

"I have a secret." he finally said after a moment, making Usagi look him fully in the eye.

"I know. I don't know what it is, but I know." she replied, and he nodded.

"I can't tell you."

"I figured as much." Usagi sighed out, "Classified?"

"Level 10 clearance." he answered, and her eyes went wide with shock.

"The only ones that have that fully are Lady Une and the Minister of Defense, right? For the Preventers records, anyways..." she said, and he shook his head.

"Wufei and I have it as well. It's open record, who all has that clearance level, for Preventers. You could check if you wanted. Duo used to- when he was still a spec ops member." Hiiro explained, "You and the others will have limited temporary clearance for the duration of this assignment. Your ears are going to be present for what might be some very delicate exchanges."

"Oh..." Usagi breathed out, before blinking suddenly; "I smell lunch."

* * *

"Hey, they've emerged from seclusion!" Duo said, grinning at them lopsidedly from his seat at the bar as Usagi and Hiiro entered the room. "What were you guys talking about in there?" 

"He was interrogating me about my former fiancée, Maxwell." Usagi answered with a glare, slipping into a stool as Minako perked up next to Duo.

"Mamoru? Why?" she asked, looking puzzled as Usagi.

"He is coming with Relena." Hiiro supplied, sitting next to Usagi as Wufei appeared in the room, claiming a seat on the far end for himself.

"Really? Wow. That sucks." Duo said, as the chef's assistants started bringing plates over. "In what capacity?"

"He works for WHO now, apparently." Usagi said with a shrug, before digging into the plate sitting before her with a strange ferociousness.

Duo started to speak to her again, but all three of the others slapped a hand over his mouth. Wufei practically lunging at him to do so.

"Duo. When Usagi eats like that, don't bother her, okay?" Minako said, and Duo nodded.

* * *

Hiiro and Trowa stood in the foyer of Quatre's home, waiting for the others as they watched Usagi. She couldn't tie the tie on her uniform, and though neither of them hinted at it- they were quite amused. The tip of her tongue was sticking out of the corner of her mouth as she looked into the mirror. Finally she pouted, and turned to look at them with pleading eyes. 

"Shosa... help?" Usagi asked, holding out the ends of the tie. He shook his head before leaning away from the wall and walking over to her.

"You know you don't have to wear one. Wufei and I don't, and Mizuno does only when she meets with her medical supervisor." Hiiro said as he took it from her, quickly tyeing it and tightening it down for her.

"I probably wouldn't in any other situation. But I need all the armor I can get; I know what my reaction to him will be, but I don't know what to expect from him." she murmured softly, turning back to look at the mirror and twisting the knot into place, even though it was there all ready, but then again- she wasn't used to the feel of something around her neck.

"I'm sure he won't do anything in front of a lot of people, Usa." Minako said as she walked in with Quatre and Ami.

"I hope so... Are you joining us, Mina?" Usagi asked, turning to blink at her friend, but Minako shook her head.

"There are some things I need to take care of here, before Miss Darlian arrives." she replied, and Usagi nodded her understanding.

"Where are Wufei and Duo?" she asked, "We need to go..."

"Maxwell, I am going to KILL you!"

"Oh dear..." Minako said, blinking at the yell, before yelping when Duo nearly collided with her.

"What did you do, Duo?" Quatre asked, looking at the braided man in despair.

"Nothing!" Duo squeaked, as Wufei appeared in the room... sans eyebrows.

"You put hair REMOVER in my FACEWASH!" Wufei yelled shaking a short blade in Duo's face, his sword was just too much to carry around, anymore...

"Duo..." Usagi said in a voice that was very much like that of a disappointed mother, "You could have blinded him doing that!"

"Nah, new stuff, it's safe to get in your eyes." Duo answered, and Usagi acquired a very thoughtful look.

"I'll have to remember that for the next time I see Rei..." she murmured, and Minako shook her head.

* * *

Usagi stood to the right and just behind Hiiro, with Ami next to her as they waited for Relena's shuttle -which had just pulled to a stop next to them- to lower it's walkway. The dark blonde that emerged first immediately smiled at all of them, the instant she saw them. 

"Hey Relena!" Duo called with a wave, "Staying out of trouble?"

Relena laughed, and gave the braided man a brief hug once she reached them, people streaming out behind her.

"As much as I can, Duo." she answered, moving to hug Quatre as well- settling on handshakes and nods for Wufei and Trowa. "How have you all been?"

Relena stopped in front of Hiiro and smiled softly; "I suppose you'd shoot me if I tried to hug you, Hiiro."

"No." he grunted in answer, making Usagi giggle next to him. Hiiro turned and gave her his patented death glare, but she just smiled in return.

"You must be the one they picked to answer my request." Relena said, turning to look at Usagi with a smile. "I hope they haven't put you through too much hell."

Usagi laughed and waved it off, before saluting Relena briefly; "Second Lieutenant Usagi Tsukino. At your service, Ma'am. And no, they've been fine- I am a member of the Shosa's squad, so I had time to get used to him and Wufei before I had all this dumped on me. And they're really only the hard ones to deal with."

Relena laughed at the girl's frankness, before turning her head to look at the man that appeared beside her, and was looking at Usagi in shock.

"Usako... No more odangos?" he finally asked after a moment, and Usagi gave him a tight smile.

"I haven't worn my hair like that since I graduated from high school, Chiba-san. And I don't recall us being on such familiar terms, the last time I heard from you." Usagi answered, before deferring to Hiiro. "Shosa, this is Doctor Chiba. Chiba-san, my commanding officer Major Hiiro Yui."

Hiiro nodded curtly, while Mamoru transferred his attention to Hiiro, but he was all ready looking down at Usagi; "We need to go."

"Yes, Shosa." she answered with a bow, before turning to Relena with a bright smile; "If you'll follow me please, Ma'am."

The rest of them watched as Usagi took Relena off, and the moment she was out of earshot, all of them turned on Mamoru- but it was Hiiro that spoke.

"You do anything to disrupt her, and I will have your head on a platter." he said -making Duo grin evilly- before strolling after the two women. The others slowly followed, but Duo stayed behind as Mamoru recovered himself.

"We all will, okay?" Duo said, looking at the doctor. "Usagi is the only one that can get Wufei and Hiiro to drink with her, so if you ruin my fun, it's gonna be trouble. Now come on, let's get you in a car."

* * *

"She grew up, Chiba-san, what did you expect?" Minako asked, not even looking up from the papers on her desk; "You broke up with a woman for not being mature enough, when she wasn't even out of high school. Of course she's going to grow up." 

Mamoru glared at the blonde head before him, before answering; "She'd been the same ever since we met, how was I supposed to know?"

Minako slammed her hands down onto her desk, and stood up, glaring at Mamoru with all her being; "Her mind nearly collapsed, all her plans had gone down the drain, and four fucking years of her life, wasted. And you expect her to be the same?"

The man shrank under the younger woman' gaze, "You do _anything_ to upset her, ever, Chiba- and you will be mush, you hear me?"

"_Why_ is everyone threatening me today?" he asked, frustrated, suddenly dropping himself into one of the chairs. "I didn't know she was going to be here. I didn't even know she joined the Preventers."

Minako sighed, and settled herself back into her seat; "There are private things going on under the surface, Chiba, things I am not at liberty to speak about. Are you dating Miss Darlian?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because if you are, I would prefer that Usagi hear it from me than someone else." she answered, looking back down at her papers. "Though I have a feeling Usagi suspects it, your job at the WHO would not bring you to this conference."

"We've been together for six months." he replied, and Minako glanced up at him.

"You have been doing an awfully good job at keeping it under the radar." she said, and he nodded.

"Hiding in politics is easier than hiding in celebrity, for sure." Mamoru said, making Minako let out a very unladylike snort.

"I'm assuming you're talking about your fling with the actress." she muttered, "That was just pure idiocy Chiba. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work I have to do."

* * *

With a groan Usagi kicked her shoes from her feet- her jacket had been discarded about an hour ago, the moment they had returned from Relena's third day of meetings. She had completed her written report to Hiiro, and given it to him, apparently just as he had finished his own report to be sent to Lady Une. He had told her that Quatre's chef, Michael, had a meal waiting for them, but she wanted a shower first. 

They were both on duty from eight in the morning till nine at night, when Wufei and Trowa took over from them for the duration of the night. It was tiring, to say the least, having to stand through at least eight hours of meetings, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle... she really, really, needed a shower.

It was more the looks that she received from the people attending the meetings, the ones used to seeing either a lone Hiiro, or him and Duo, at Relena's back that bothered her. She could all ready hear rumors flying as to who she was, and she was sure it had something to do with Hiiro's secret.

With a sigh, Usagi collected her pajamas and headed to her shower.

* * *

Hiiro entered Quatre's kitchen to find Usagi eating her dinner while she chatted with Michael, and he sent a glance over his shoulder to the older, raven-haired woman who followed him. She had arrived after what would normally be considered polite, requested to see Usagi by name, even though no one had been informed of her presence in Quatre's home, and had simply explained that she was an old family friend. 

However, the Vice Minister of Defense, Miya Hino, was not one to be questioned.

Usagi looked up at their footsteps, and her face brightened at the sight of the woman; "Miya-kaasan!"

She jumped from her chair, and without a second thought threw herself into Miya's open arms. She spoke in a rush of Japanese, while Miya calmly listened. When Usagi finally paused for air, she place a hand on her arm.

"Your commander is looking at you like you've grown a second head, Usa-chan." she said, and Usagi turned to Hiiro with a blush.

"Gomen ne, Shosa." she said, before explaining; "Miya-kaasan is my friend Rei's mother."

He nodded his understanding as Usagi led them back over to the bar, and he answered; "Your friends all seem to end up being influential, Tsukino."

Usagi gave him the tiniest of pouts, before continuing; "You two have all ready met, I'm assuming."

"Several times, actually." Miya answered, sitting down next to Usagi as Hiiro sat on her other side, taking his meal from Michael. "You've caused quite the stir among the politicians, Usa."

"Tell me something I don't know. I've felt like more eyes are on me than Miss Darlian for the past three days." Usagi replied grumpily, stabbing a piece of her fish with her fork; "I don't understand why, though."

"For the past ten years, a very specific group of people have been watching over Relena at these things, Usa. They're wondering why there is a young, attractive woman breaking that mold." Miya said, shooting a glance at Hiiro that Usagi did not miss.

"Because she doesn't want a guy following her into the bathrooms anymore. I don't blame her, either." Usagi commented under her breath, making Miya blink and then laugh.

"A very simple explanation as to the reason, Usagi." Miya said, before turning serious and dragging Hiiro into the conversation; "But that doesn't explain why it's a fresh graduate, whether she is a member of the special operations unit or not. There were other options, Lucrezia Noin, her brother's wife for instance."

Hiiro looked up at her, and then did something very unlike him. He spoke his native language.

"Hino-san, don't let your feelings for her interfere with your judgment of her capabilities." he replied purely in Japanese, startling Miya and making Usagi smile at him. "Have you seen the tapes, the ones from the day I choose her?"

Miya merely shook her head, before Hiiro reached over to the phone that sat on the counter, and punched in an extension; "Quatre will you send down a copy of Tsukino's live-fire tapes? I'm in the kitchen."

After a brief moment Hiiro hung up the phone, as Miya stared at Usagi, even though she spoke to Hiiro, slipping into Japanese herself; "Every trainee does live-fire runs, why is this different?"

"Tsukino was running target for AT and SWAT before she graduated." he answered; "She had a survival ratio of five-to-one in her favor."

Usagi blushed, studying her food quite closely as Miya in turn stared at her quite closely.

"You didn't tell your parents about this I assume, or I would have heard from them." Miya said; "Your father would have been yelling at me to lock his precious baby girl in the brig, and to not let her out until he arrived to retrieve her."

Both Usagi and Hiiro snorted, Usagi replying in explanation to Hiiro; "Tou-san was in denial about what I was in training for, even though he was proud of me."

"That's an understatement." Miya said, as an aide appeared in the room, handed Hiiro a disk, and disappeared just as quickly. Hiiro passed the disk down to Miya, who slipped it into her purse.

"If you mean what you say about her father, I wouldn't show that to him." he said, and Miya laughed, waving a hand in dismissal of the statement.

"I won't! Trust me, I would be on the receiving end of Kenji Tsukino's wrath... and no one wants to be in that position." she said, before handing Usagi an envelope she had pulled from her purse. "I don't know how my daughter does it, but she some how knew I would see you, and wanted me to give this to you."

Usagi numbly took the envelope from the Miya's fingers, all ready feeling dread. "Thank you, Miya-kaasan."

"I need to get going, we all have early starts tomorrow." Miya said, standing from her seat, Usagi and Hiiro both starting to follow, but she waved them off. "I can see myself out. You two finish eating."

After a brief hug from Usagi and a handshake from Hiiro, she departed, leaving Usagi staring at the envelope and Hiiro staring at her. Without even thinking, they continued to speak in Japanese.

"I don't know if I want to open it." Usagi murmured, trying to keep her hands from crushing it in her nervousness. "It's probably bad news."

"You won't know till you read it." he offered, and she impulsively held it out to him, a pleading look in her eyes.

"Please?" Usagi asked, and Hiiro hesitated before taking it from her, opening it, and smirking slightly as he glanced over the first line, even though she could tell what he read bothered him slightly.

"'Major Yui, please tell Usagi she choses to loose her backbone over the smallest things. And then make her read this herself.'" he quoted, handing it back to her; "Read it, Usa."

They both stopped at his use of her nickname, and Usagi blushed before quickly slipping the paper from his fingers and reading it over, skipping the first line at the very top. It was short, only a few lines other than the one Hiiro had read to her.

_'Usa,_

_Stop being scared. He'll have you, and Lady Une won't find out until you two choose to tell her. Go for it. Be happy now, spite what may happen in the future._

_Rei'_

With a blush, Usagi refolded the letter and slipped it back into the envelope. Hiiro watched her movements closely, but when she returned to her food he didn't question her.

* * *

Author's Note: 

woot woot.

Thanks for the reviews, and serenity wayne this somewhat answers your question... but if you're still wondering anything, it's a surprise! I will not give any details away before hand. I like keeping you guys in the dark, y'know? You'll find out when you're supposed to!

-B'resheet

12/09/07 - 09:51:26 PM

(PS: Went back through and fixed the spelling of Ami's last name! Danke, SaikonoYume, for pointing it out.)


	5. Chapter Four

Rise  
B'resheet

Disclaimer: Insert standard disclaimer here. I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, including any and all characters or other trademarks associated with either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. I do however claim right to any original characters or original situations included in this story.

* * *

Usagi sat on her bed, knees to her chest, staring at the letter in her hands. Rei was telling her to go for it, but that she would have to take the risk that it would end, probably before she was ready for it to. Her choice was made harder by the heavy feeling of the failure of her last relationship in the room across the hall from her.

She needed to actually talk to Rei... with a sigh Usagi went to find a vidphone that was relatively private, running her finger over the number scribbled at the very bottom as if an afterthought. If she remembered correctly Michael had pointed one out in the kitchen, tucked into a small nook.

* * *

"Moshi moshi? Usa!" the raven haired woman on the screen answered; "'Kaa-san got you my note, then?"

"Yea, she came by tonight. How are you?" Usagi asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear and smiling at her dearest friend.

"Exhausted! I'm trying to get ready for the next four years of school, keep up the temple and look after my little priestess-in-training." she said with a tired smile, "Hotaru is a dear though, and she seems happy that Michi and Ruka left her with me while they're touring."

"That's good. Is she doing better?" Usagi asked and Rei nodded.

"Much. But this isn't what you called to chat about." she said and Usagi gave her a tired look.

"You could wait for me to bring it up at least." Usagi muttered, but Rei just chuckled; "What did you See, Rei?"

"Joy, Usa, I saw joy." she said, smiling softly; "All most enough to make me believe in your fairy tales. Many years of happiness, but you need to act soon to catch it."

"How soon? I don't know if I'm ready..." Usagi murmured, picking at a fuzz on her pants.

"Within the next day or two, Usa. Usa- I know what I told you before you left for Brussels scared you, but you can't let it keep you from living your life!" Rei sighed out, looking pointedly at her friend; "I never Saw anything that told me you wouldn't survive, nor that you would not be able to be yourself again. I know I've told you so before, and I know you aren't sure if you believe me. But please, Usa, trust me. I would never give you false hope. You know me better than that!"

Usagi nodded, and ran a hand through her hair roughly; "Did you know Mamoru was going to be here?"

"Yes. Why, not really, but I knew you would see him there." she said, before perking up; "Oh! You're on L1, right? I'll have to stop and see you!"

"What? When?" Usagi asked, blinking in confusion at Rei.

"'Kaa-san asked me to be her date to the Diplomat's thing, because 'Tou-san can't make it. His dojo kids have tournaments that weekend. My flight is earlier than all hell tomorrow morning." she said, and Usagi squealed, clasping her hands together.

"Have you gone shopping yet?"

"No, not yet. Why?"

"I want to go with you! Mina is in the area as well! It'd be a great chance to catch up if I can get any short-leave time. We're kinda in the middle of something."

"I get the feeling that's an understatement."

* * *

Duo, Wufei, Hiiro and Usagi sat around a table in Quatre's kitchen, early the next morning, going over Relena's schedule for the day. Picking up her cereal bowl and scooping up a mouthful, Usagi asked; "You think Relena's all ready gone shopping for the Diplomat's Ball?"

"God, I hope so." Wufei muttered, turning a page of his copy of the day's events. "Why do you ask?"

"I just wondered. I talked to my friend, Rei. She's coming up here to be her mother's date for it, and she hasn't." she answered, making Duo look up sleepily from his cup of coffee.

"How'd her mom get a ticket for it?" he asked, making Usagi giggle slightly.

"Miya Hino sound familiar, Duo?" Hiiro said, newspaper blocking his face from the rest of them.

"Well, yeah, she's the Vice Minister of Defense. We've reported to her a couple of times." Duo replied, before blinking and turning to look at Usagi, saying; "Your best friend's ma is the Vice Minister of Defense?"

"Yea. Her dad was in politics for a while, as well, but he retired from it to take over his father's dojo when we were little." she said, pausing before adding; "Rei has been in local politics since we started college, too, as an activist. She'll be starting law school in the fall."

"Holy shit, how do they do it?" Duo sweared, leaning back in his seat suddenly.

"Well, before I joined the Preventers, I was planning on going into international relations. Acting as a negotiating agent for different countries." Usagi said with a shrug of her shoulders, before sliding her spoon into her mouth, pausing to swallow before adding; "All three of us, Rei, Mina, and myself, have some political aspirations, I guess. We're all just taking different paths to it, and I am currently way off course."

"You are all out of your minds." Wufei muttered, Duo nodding his agreement, and Hiiro even dropped a corner of his newspaper to give her a look that clearly said, 'You seriously are nuts, aren't you?'

"You guys just don't understand how interesting it can be. You can learn so much about a person just by bringing up politics, not to mention if you can actually get them to talk about it." she said from around another bite of her cereal, pointing an accusing spoon at them.

"I prefer religion to politics." Duo said, and she shrugged, swallowing her bite.

"You can learn a lot about a persons religious views from the political ones." she replied, pushing herself away from the table to take her bowl to the sink. "You can judge how they rank the important things in life. What do they hold in high regard? Money? Family?"

"Usagi, it is way too early for you to get all serious. It weirds me out." Duo muttered, and Usagi looked up at him blinking, before a sheepish grin grew on her lips.

"Gomen nasai, Duo. Sorry. It was a long night." she said, scratching at her ear in embarrassment. Luckily she was saved by Relena entering the breakfast nook off the kitchen, braiding her hair as she made her way to the table covered in foodstuffs, Mamoru following her a short time later.

"G'morning, Relena. Sleep well?" Duo asked with a suggestive snicker, making every one in the room give him an exasperated look.

"Has he always been a suggestive pervert?" Usagi asked Relena honestly, as she passed her on her way back to the table, and her coffee.

"Yes, as long as any of us have known him, he's been this way. We think he may be getting worse with age though." Relena returned, just as honestly, but a hint of humor in her voice.

"You are so mean, 'Lena." Duo pouted, dropping his chip into the palm of his hand. "Is no one in a good mood this morning?"

"I wouldn't say I'm in a bad mood, I'm just feeling a bit off." Usagi pipped up as Minako entered, heading straight for the coffee pot.

"Is it something like what a person feels before they realize just how insane they are?" she asked jokingly as she poured herself a cup, adding sugar and cream to it liberally. Usagi poked the tip of her tongue out of her mouth at her, before lifting her own cup to her lips and taking a sip.

"It feels like the day Marimeia made her first broadcast." Usagi said, bringing her cup down of her lips, setting it on the table, and staring at it. "We had all slept at Rei's temple the night before. When we got up..."

"Miya was in Brussels and Rei's father had joined her, too, at special request." Mina said, remembering the words Rei's grandfather had told them when they had made their way out to the porches where he stood looking out over the temple grounds.

"It does feel the same, doesn't it? I'm not going crazy?" Usagi asked, looking up from her coffee, as a sudden dread fell upon her shoulders when Trowa appeared in the doorway, only for a brief moment to give a message before moving on.

"Find a TV."

* * *

"Why now? I shouldn't have said anything. God damn, I shouldn't have said anything." Usagi muttered, elbows on her knees and hands clasped tightly together as Minako draped her arms around her shoulders from where she stood behind the couch. Everyone in the space was glued to the TV, except the aides scrambling in and out of the room that held Quatre's largest screen.

The sound had been muted after the second time the news station replayed the message, and now they merely watched the ticker on the bottom of the screen. Quatre and Relena's most senior aide had appeared shortly after Trowa's announcement, and whisked her off to his office to receive news and information from Lady Une and other senior cabinet ministers.

"No one can always be happy at the same time, Usa. It's just how things work." Minako said, setting her chin on top of her friend's head as she spoke.

"I know, but God damn, anyway. I need to get a hold of Miya-kaasan, Rei's flight was early this morning." Usagi said, straightening up suddenly and bumping her head into Minako's chin, making them both yelp.

"Her flight was this morning?" Minako asked, rubbing her chin and checking Usagi's head for her.

"Yea. I need to call Miya." Usagi said, turning to look at Hiiro sitting beside her. He looked back at her and nodded, standing up.

"I'll put you on a secure line. Your clearance will give her the ability to tell you everything she knows." he said quietly, standing up; "Wufei, Trowa, Duo, and I will probably be getting our briefing from Lady Une and Quatre here shortly, you might as well get yours at the same time."

Usagi smiled up at him, and stood squeezing Minako's hand as she followed Hiiro out of the room, saying; "I'll tell you what I can tell you, Mina."

Minako nodded, and Usagi turned and jogged over to join Hiiro at the door. She followed him to the back of the house, where Quatre's exercise and training rooms were located. He stopped at a nondescript door, and punched a code into the pad above the doorknob. Usagi blinked as she passed through the doorway into a dark hallway, Hiiro shutting the door behind them and flipping a light switch at the same time, revealing the hallway to be more open than the door way had led her to believe, with fairly wide spaces between the doors and a final wide industrial door at the opposite end from where she stood. He led her down to the last door on the right side, again entering a code into the door before opening it.

"You can use this one. Make sure the doors close behind you, when you leave. You'll have to transmit Minister Hino your clearance code, you do remember it, right?" He asked, turning the light on and stepping aside so that she could enter the room.

"Yes, Shosa." she replied, passing by him to enter a fairly small room, one large display screen taking up the far end, with a control terminal sitting a few feet in front of it. Usagi slid herself into the chair behind the terminal, and slid her hand over the controls mentally reciting to herself what did what. Hiiro startled her when he reached over her shoulder from behind, punching another number into the keypad before punching another button below it, the lights of the terminal and screen turning on with a series of beeps.

"Tight security, ne?" Usagi asked, turning her head to look at him, coming nearly face to face with him when she did. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, the corner of his lips twitching ever so slightly.

"You'll use this same keypad to transmit your clearance code." Hiiro said, tapping next to the key pad he had just used. "The rest of it should be the same as what you were trained on."

Usagi nodded, still looking at his face when he punched in a final series of number, saying to her; "I put her secure number in, you're ready."

"Thank you, Shosa." she said, looking down when he finally turned to look at her. Hiiro stared at her for a moment, the bright industrial light of the room highlighting silver strands scattered in her hair.

"Don't worry about it. Make sure the doors close." he said, turning to leave, squeezing her shoulder ever so briefly in an offer of comfort. Usagi blinked at his retreating back before turning to the control panel and pressing the transmit button.

A uniformed woman appeared on the screen, requesting politely; "Please transmit clearance code and state name, rank, and assignment."

Usagi quickly punched in the number, saying as she did so; "Usagi Tsukino, Second Lieutenant, Special Ops Unit 01."

The operator's eyebrows rose, as her eyes flicked over the information being transmitted to her; "Clearance verified. The Vice Minister of Defense is extremely busy at the moment, I'm sorry. You may have to wait a while."

"I expected as much. I have no problem waiting for her." Usagi answered, and the woman nodded, typed something into a keyboard below Usagi's line of sight.

"I'm going to put you on hold now." the woman said, before the screen turned black, a very polite "Thank you very much for waiting!" in white lettering upon it.

Usagi sighed and sagged into her seat, resting her temple against her knuckles. The sudden cracking of her ear piece surprised her, making her jump up in her seat.

"Usagi?" Duo's voice asked, and she blinked- puzzled.

"Yes. I'm here." she replied, pressing it further into her ear.

"Lady Une is putting all Preventers on alert in about thirty minutes. As soon as you're done talking to Missus Hino, report to Yui in uniform. Understood?" he relayed, the serious tone of his voice making her swallow, and she nodded, even though he couldn't see her.

"Which uniform?" she answered, dropping her hand from her ear.

"Be ready to do the work you are normally supposed to, understood?"

"Yes, Sir.

"Good. Maxwell out." he said, before cutting the connection. Usagi let out her breathe in a rush, running her hand roughly through her hair. Miya appeared on the screen then, aids running around behind her, saying; "I take it this isn't a totally personal call if you gave your clearance."

"Not totally. Is Rei all right? I spoke to her last night, she told me she was coming up this morning." Usagi replied, and Miya nodded raggedly as someone handed her a packet of papers.

"She's fine. I'm surprised she hasn't managed to get herself to you yet. They were picking her up when the broadcast first came through." Miya explained, flipping through the papers quickly before setting it on top of a stack of similar packets next to her.

"The phone lines are jammed, with Miss Darlian being here. And she couldn't get through the gates without pre-approval being sent." Usagi commented; "So, what can you tell me about the broadcast."

"Pretty much everything, with your current clearance level." Miya sighed out, shuffling through the papers in front of her. "But there isn't much, yet. I've all ready sent over a copy of the Intelligence Committee's report, Major Yui should have it in hand shortly if he doesn't all ready. He should give you a copy when you see him.

"It's not much. Neither is anything else we have. They were routed through so many satellites and transmitters, the signal couldn't be traced back to it's origin before they cut it. There have been only a handful of people found who had heard the organization's name before today. None of them are in any level of military or government, one used to be- but that's it." Miya continued, her patience starting to run visibly thin. Usagi frowned, her mind crawling with questions that could not yet be answered.

"What type of profession do they have?" she asked, and Miya blinked at her, before she flipped through the pages of paper, finding one and pulling it out to read.

"They're historians."

"So, they -the Black Moon- are some sort of obscure blip in history?" Usagi asked skeptically, "Come back to haunt us for forgetting them or something?"

Miya tossed her a dry look through the vidphone, and Usagi let out a sigh, leaning back in her chair as Miya started reading the report, out loud; "The Black Moon is a name that has been taken by several groups through out history. They usually have all appeared at the beginning of times of change -sometimes catastrophic change- the first time the name was recorded is in hieroglyphics of Ancient Egypt. There are also Japanese newspaper articles from the end of the twentieth century that mention the name."

"So, they've come back to haunt us after all." Usagi muttered to herself, rubbing her temple; "You actually believe that rubbish?"

"I believe that there have been similar groups, with a similar name. But, if it is more than a coincidence? Probably not, ne?" Miya answered, tossing the papers onto her desk, before studying Usagi intently. "Une wants Relena back on Earth, she won't have it though."

"Shosa told me to expect that." Usagi murmured, biting her lip. "Send word to Rei for me? I'll make sure there's word that she's allowed up. Mina will be glad for the company."

"Of course. I'm sure you have things you have to take care of as soon as you hang up with me." Miya said, and Usagi shrugged.

"I haven't gotten marching orders yet. I have to report in as soon as we're done, though." she replied, and Miya nodded.

"That's pretty much all we have at the moment. Yui and the others will update you as needed." she said, smiling briefly; "Take care, Usa-chan."

"I will, Miya-kaasan." Usagi answered, and Miya nodded again before she cut the connection. Usagi stood and shut down the terminal, before switching off the light and slipping from the room and hallway, careful that the doors shut behind her, as told.

Usagi quickly retraced her path until she came upon a stair case- which she took two steps at a time to the second floor, and she maximized what reach she had with her short stature as she walked to her room to change. Once Usagi reached her room she ducked into it, reemerging a scant five minutes later. Her clothing changed into a black quarter length turtleneck, simple black pants clothing her legs over a pair of flat-footed flexible dark leather boots. Usagi buckled her shoulder holster, loaded handgun already in place, as she walked down the hallway, her jacket tucked under one arm. She spotted an aide popping out of the door of Quatre's private office at the end of the hall and called out, tugging the dark muted-green jacket on, pulling her hair out to cover the hood.

"Do you know where Major Yui is?" she asked of the dark haired young man, and he nodded, tucking the folders he held into his elbow.

"He's waiting for you downstairs, Lieutenant. I think in the foyer, by the hallway that leads to the garage."

"Thank you." she said with a smile, waving as she passed by him. Usagi quickly knotted her hair up, before retrieving a pair of leather gloves, still packaged, from her pocket. She removed them from it, pausing to toss the trash into a bin under a vidphone stand at the top of the stairs, before quickly going down them, pulling on the gloves and readjusting the sleeves of her jacket as she did so.

Usagi skipped the last step, using the hand rail to turn herself towards the hallway the aide had suggested. She landed quietly, the soles of her boots bringing her to an easy stop facing Hiiro.

He was clothed in a similar state, much more casual than their dress had been as of late, and he nodded in greeting.

"Relena is going to go give a public statement." Hiiro stated simply, before asking; "How are you with reading crowds?"

"Like being able to find a hostile in one, Sir?" she asked quietly, and he nodded; "I can do it just as well as anything else."

"I'm going to need to modify your assignment." he replied before turning and leading her down the hallway to the door that led to the garage, where Trowa, Wufei, Duo, Quatre, and Ami were waiting for them, trunks of a pair of cars open and packed.

"Quatre and Mizuno will be running surveillance. Trowa and Duo will be on perimeter." Hiiro continued once they were standing with the others, before sending a look at Usagi. "Wufei and I will be Relena's side guards, I want you working the crowd."

"You're having her work the crowd alone?" Quatre asked, his tone somewhat concerned, while Wufei, Duo and Trowa exchanged glances to each other, that Ami politely ignored.

"While I would be comfortable out there alone, Sir, if the wrong type of person sees me talking to myself when I'm reporting in... Well, excuse me Sir, but wouldn't it be a bit obvious, they sure as hell aren't going to let someone insane in. Sir. Sorry Sir." Usagi ansawered, looking him in the eye, her brows knitting together and his lids narrowed ever so slightly. Duo whistled at the amount of 'Sir's she had used- they all ignored him.

"We don't have enough qualified hands for me to pair you with anyone." he answered, and her eyes joined his in thinning, her mind processing options.

"Shosa, what about Setsuna?" Usagi asked, blinking before looking to Quatre. "Relena's chief aide? Isn't she a former Preventer?"

Quatre blinked back at her, but he nodded, saying; "Intelligence analyst, but yes. She wouldn't need to do much but be able to keep a calm face-"

"I don't think that one would have any problem with that." Trowa interrupted, his voice barely making it all the way to her ears, as Quatre finished; "And be able to handle a gun if necessary. Or she could assist Ami, freeing me up."

Usagi looked back up at Hiiro, who was studying her intently, before he nodded his assent.

"Send the request to her, Quatre, I'll work the rest of it out before we leave. Tsukino hasn't been to where Relena's giving her statement yet, will one of you go a head and take her up there so she can learn it?" he said, looking up to the others, and Duo raised a hand.

"It's been a while since I've been over there. Need a refresher anyway." He offered, and Usagi nodded to Hiiro before stepping away with Duo and following him over to one of the jeeps parked in the garage.

"The rest of us will be leaving in about fifteen minutes. We're all packed and ready to go?" Hiiro asked Quatre, who nodded.

"The cars have been checked, and the electronics team took their gear over when Relena said she wanted to do this." Quatre added, and Hiiro nodded before turning and heading back into the house to get the latest update from one of the aides.

* * *

"So, do you really never use the same pair of gloves on more than one mission?" Duo asked Usagi from the driver's seat as they made their way down Relena's driveway, Usagi waving at Duo to stop at the guard house at the end.

"There will be a woman coming by to see Minako Aino some time soon. Her name is Rei Hino, she's in the D.B., her mom's Miya Hino. Let her up and have them send Minako to the door, okay?" Usagi tossed across Duo, pulling her ID out to present to the young Preventer that was manning the gate. He reached out, took her ID to check, before nodding and handing it back to her with a polite, "Yes Ma'am."

"Thanks!" Usagi chirped before Duo stepped on the gas, taking them out to the main road that Quatre's home sat on.

"I never use the same pair of gloves twice? Not exactly. If something happens on a mission I get rid of the gloves entirely, and open up a new pair." she answered his earlier question, settling back into her seat. Duo nodded his understanding, and settled himself into his own seat, there was a good chance they would be running into a lot of traffic.

"Why_did_ you join the Preventers, Usagi?" Duo asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye, and she rested her head against the glass of the window.

"I wanted to take action. I had been going to university to learn how to be good at talking about things, and it just didn't seem like it was always going to be enough. I felt like, if there was a chance that we needed to fight to protect ourselves, I wanted to act. Not talk." she said, turning to him and tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "What about you?"

"My reasons were a lot like yours." he replied, and she blinked at him; "Not exactly, but close. I had been a teen soldier in the Eve Wars, I'd lived fighting for my freedom and peace. I am still fighting for it."

"I think I've heard all of you hint at that before." Usagi murmured, wiggling her fingers to get them comfortable in the unused leather.

"It's how we met. Been a pretty close knit group ever since." Duo said, and she nodded as Duo pulled onto the on-ramp for the highway.

"I could tell all of you were really close. You five remind me of Mina, Rei, and I when we were teenagers." Usagi responded, as Duo prepared to merge with traffic only to come to a dead stop as he found he had no where to go.

"Shit." he swore, reaching for the mouth piece to the long distance radio in his dashboard; "Shin to Base."

"Base here, what's up Shin?" crackled back through the radio, and Duo sighed before answering.

"Route A is deadlocked, Base."

"Shit. All right, Shin. I'll send word up. You want to know what they decide to do?" the operator asked, and Duo paused to think a moment.

"No, Hiiro will tell you if I need to know." he replied, throwing the jeep into neutral and pulling up on the e-brake.

"All right, Shin. Base out."

Duo sighed and put the mouthpiece back on it's hook, dropping his forehead onto the steering wheel. Usagi smothered a giggle, earning herself a slight glare from him.

"Duo... we do have the signal, you know."

"Yeah, but technically, I'm not supposed to use it except in emergencies. Though I probably could get away with it in this situation." he answered, leaning back into his seat again.

"How long do you think this will take?" Usagi asked bleakly, staring out at the car-infested road in front of them.

"Only God knows."

* * *

"How far have they moved in the last ten minutes?" Hiiro asked Setsuna Mieoh, Relena's chief aide, who had brought him the latest message from Duo and Usagi. Watching as Minako walked through the foyer below them, opening the door on a raven-haired woman, who smiled widely at her.

"One car length, apparently." she replied, a trace of humor in her mature voice, as Minako let out a high pitched squeal before hugging the other woman, dragging her into the house.

"Minako, please." Hiiro threw down the stairs, making the blonde woman blush and look down, as the woman he assumed was Rei Hino grinned sardonically up at him.

"She can't help it, Major, please forgive her." Rei answered for Minako, and he merely shook his head, before turning back to Setsuna as the pair walked off.

"Send word to delay Relena's statement. By- about an hour, and ask Trowa to remap for the secondary route, and hope it's not in the same state, if you would." Hiiro told her as he checked his watch, and she nodded, before turning and making her way back to Quatre's office, where Relena was enclosed with Trowa and Quatre. Hiiro stood there for a moment before making his way down the stairs, and back to the kitchen, the only completely quiet room in the mansion.

He found Rei and Minako there, alone with the buffet Michael had prepared instead of a lunch or later, dinner. They sat at the bar, both with short glasses filled with ice and an amber colored liqueur. Rei noticed his arrival and tipped her glass in his direction, before sipping from it, while Hiiro poured himself a glass of water, taking a seat just down from Rei.

"I can see why Usagi is drawn to you." she said, making Minako look between the two of them, as Hiiro stared forward at nothing.

"You two are the same as her, aren't you?" he asked bluntly, making Minako squeak and Rei smile sadly at him.

"It not that hard to figure out is it? Once one of us discovered, it's only a matter of time before the other two are revealed as well." Rei replied, setting her glass onto the bar top, turning her seat to face him fully.

"I want you to answer a question for me. As a Shinto Priestess, nothing more." Hiiro said, finally looking over at her, turning his head only far enough to look her in the eye.

"Of course. No matter how many generations it may have been since your family stepped foot there, you are of the people I have given myself to." she answered with a bowed head, her words gentle despite the roughened feeling of her personality.

"Do you think there is a reason the three of you were born the way you are?" he asked, and Minako tilted her head at him from behind Rei, as her raven-haired friend let out a sigh, dropping an elbow onto the bar top, placing her chin atop her curled fingers.

"There are no coincidences, only the inevitable. We can only tweak our paths so much, and... for some reason I have never been able to put a name to, I think we three have all ready pushed our paths to the limit. Our abilities have a purpose, I believe this. However, I cannot tell you what that purpose will ultimately be." she slowly said, her violet eyes darkening at her internal thoughts. Hiiro studied her, the room falling into silence until Wufei appeared, taking a seat next to Hiiro.

"Duo radioed again, he says they've moved thirty feet at most since he first notified us." he informed him, and Hiiro nodded, taking a drink from his glass as Wufei added; "Do you want me to send someone on a motorcycle to grab Tsukino? You seemed to want her in the crowd for a reason."

"I'll go. I have something I need to take care of on site." Hiiro said, setting his glass back down before standing and leaving the room. All three of them watching him closely as he did so, until Rei turned to Wufei.

"Rei Hino." she offered, and he looked over to her outstretched hand before taking hold of it, appreciating her firm, strong grip.

"Wufei Chang." he answered, as they shook hands, and Rei gave him a smile that lit up her face, despite the fact that her lips had barely moved.

"Charmed."

* * *

"Major Yui is on his way, Shin." the operator cracked through the radio, making both Usagi and Duo sit up straighter in their seats. "He should be there soon, they got this to me after he left."

Duo reached out and picked up the mouthpiece, saying; "Understood, Base."

"Why?" Usagi asked Duo simply, as he hung the mouthpiece back up, before reaching down to the floorboards behind her seat.

"He's picking you up, Usagi. We know there's a reason he wants you in that crowd, even though we don't know why." Duo answered, pulling a motorcycle helmet up and handing it to her; "They can get Relena on location a different way, but it's going to take me a while to get out of here."

Usagi numbly took the helmet from him, her mind confused by his words. She had no chance to question him further, as the sound of a quickly approaching motorcycle came from behind them, Hiiro appearing between them and the car next to them a moment later.

"Don't think about it. Get out of here." Duo said, snapping Usagi out of her thoughts. She nodded, opened the door of the jeep and hopped out, slamming the door shut and pushing the helmet onto her head at the same time. She didn't hesitate when she got on behind Hiiro, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, at which point he gunned the motor and took off once more.

* * *

"You two understand what this means, right?" Setsuna asked, a phone held to her ear, as she stared at the TV in front of her. Not really watching it as the voices on the other end answered, making her smile ever so slightly.

"I would never do that, Michiru- Haruka- you should know better." she answered, the news once more playing a clip from the broadcast, a pale haired man in white military-type uniform relaying their message.

"_We, the Black Moon, do hereby succeed from the E.S.U.N., and declare war on Earth and her Colonies. If you do not resist, we will consider sparing your children..."_

* * *

Author's Note:

Took me long enough, huh? Sorry. Life's nuts, you know. I hope you all are enjoying things so far and thanks for sticking with me. This is, pretty obviously, where the plot thickens and from here on out things should be pretty nuts, if my brain doesn't fail the task of spitting out what I've got stuffed in there!

Pray it doesn't fail!

B'resheet

01/21/08 - 07:33:13 PM


	6. Chapter Five

Rise  
B'resheet

Disclaimer: Insert standard disclaimer here. I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, including any and all characters or other trademarks associated with either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. I do however claim right to any original characters or original situations included in this story.

* * *

Usagi let out a sigh as she pulled the helmet from her head, standing next to Hiiro's motorcycle in the parking lot of the large park stretched out beside them and all ready set up for Relena's announcement, technicians mulling around as they waited for things to begin. Hiiro stepped up beside her and she followed him as he led her up a path, to where a trailer was set up just behind the place where a stage, chair, and space for the public had been set up. 

Usagi blinked when she entered the trailer, it was dark except for the glow of at least a dozen surveillance monitors. Hiiro was all ready conversing with a woman when she reached him after setting the door.

"This is Lucrezia Noin, she's Lady Une's Chief of Emergency Security and the Dean of the Academy. Also Relena's sister-in-law." Hiiro introduced, and Usagi saluted her politely as he continued; "Second Lieutenant Usagi Tsukino. She's my squad's resident newbie, as Maxwell would say."

Lucrezia saluted Usagi back, smiling as she said; "At ease, Lieutenant. I've heard good things about you, from many sources. I've seen you before, during checks on campus, but I think this is the first time we've actually met."

"Yes Ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you." Usagi replied, and Lucrezia nodded before turned back to Hiiro.

"So what can I do for you, Hiiro?" she asked him, and Hiiro tilted his head in Usagi's direction.

"Tsukino is going to be working the crowd. I need you to set her up with a discreet ear piece. And a wrist piece, if you have one." he answered, and she blinked looking between him and Usagi before nodding.

"No problem with the ear piece, but I'll have to see what I can do on the wrist piece." Lucrezia said before leading them back into a portioned off area, filled with cases and boxes on shelves. She selected one of the smaller boxes and set it on the table, before she began to search through the rest of them as she said; "That's your ear piece, go ahead and check the size Lieutenant. By the way, Lady Une just arrived as well, Hiiro."

He looked up at her words as Usagi opened the box, pulling her larger ear-wrapping piece off before taking the case out of the box as Hiiro asked; "For Relena's announcement?"

"That, and she feels that she needs to be up here. If anything happens- this is where our troops will be launched from, in the start at least." she replied, finally taking a small case from the shelves. "How does it feel?"

"Hardly tell it's there, Ma'am." she answered as Lucrezia set the case on the table and opened it.

"With how small your wrists are I can't give you a gun that you would be able to protect yourself with. So- I hope you're good with knives." she said, taking the long, thin dagger attached to a wrist sheath, from the case and waving for Usagi to take her arm from her sleeve.

Usagi grinned at Hiiro as she slipped her arm out and held it for Lucrezia to attach, saying; "I'm pretty fair with one."

"She's overly modest." Hiiro mumbled from where he stood, making Usagi blush and Lucrezia chuckled.

"Speaking of, my not-so-modest husband is arriving with Une. Will you boys be stealing him for drinks afterwards?" she asked, as she finished strapping Usagi in. "Okay?"

"It's good, does it have a release trigger?" Usagi asked, and Lucrezia nodded, opening her mouth to tell her how to release it, but Usagi had already done it, and was spinning the dagger in her fingers.

"I meant what I said about her being modest. And I don't know if we'll be able to catch up, depends on if they convince Relena to go back to Earth." Hiiro said, earning a grin from Lucrezia as Usagi slid the dagger back into place, as her arm into her sleeve.

"I feel sorry for those tasked with that job. Was that all you needed?"

"Yeah. Thanks Noin."

* * *

"You're friends with Zechs Marquise, too?" Usagi asked Hiiro as they walked through the maze of barriers and began a loop around the venue setup.

"It's a somewhat hostile friendship, but yes." he answered, and Usagi stared at him for a moment before continuing her inquiry.

"Why was it hostile?"

Hiiro stopped and looked down at her, and Usagi stopped as well, blinking up at him in confusion. He continued to study her, all most to the point that her nervousness and curiosity pushed her to peek into his thoughts and discover what was going on behind those cobalt blue depths- and then he turned, started walking again, but saying as he did so; "In the Eve Wars, I was a rebel. He was Oz."

Usagi blinked, and jogged a few steps to catch up with him, asking; "You were a rebel? At fifteen-? Sixteen?"

"Yes." he replied, and she blinked at his short response, but he didn't seem angry- more she felt a sense of regret in his voice.

"I may over step my boundaries, but how did a rebel manage to go to school with the Prime Minister, who comes from a very well off family?" she timidly asked after a moment, but Hiiro stayed silent, staring forward at nothing.

"Ask me again later, Usa." he said eventually, and Usagi nodded- blushing slightly, and following him as he led her around the areas of the park around the stage.

* * *

Usagi smiled at Quatre, as he met up with her just inside the entrance of the park, and they made their way with the public that was moving towards the stage in tight groups, fear obvious on people's faces. 

"There is defiance, too. They will not allow these people to do as they please." Usagi murmured, and Quatre blinked, before looking at the people around them.

"Everyone remembers the Wars." Quatre said in reply, and Usagi nodded, as they took up a position near the middle of the crowd.

"They don't want it to return, the war, but if they must- they will bend, not break under pressure, they will protect themselves, their families, their friends, the precious things." she said, and Quatre just listened in interest, it was the first time the two of them had every really talked. "We are stronger now, than we were before."

Quatre smiled at her, and she looked over at him, blinking before smiling back as he said; "We are stronger now, aren't we? Older, wiser."

"My priestess friend would say that, each breath, each moment we live in this world is an experience we mustn't take for granted. That, we must take those experiences and learn, or else we won't fulfill the purpose we are here for." Usagi said, twisting a piece of her hair that had fallen loose; "I understand her to an extent, but it is a hard thing to do sometimes. But- as a whole, I think we've done it. We've learned."

Quatre stared at the petite woman beside him for a moment, before turning away to look at the stage where people were beginning to file up and take their seats. It had been somewhat hard to believe, the moments Wufei and Duo had told him about, where she went from being an adventurous, fun-loving young woman, to an ancient soul, with eyes that looked like her spirit carried the sins of the world.

They had been right, it was a somewhat unsettling thing to experience.

Usagi could tell her words had effected him, and she sighed silently as someone -the Press Secretary, she assumed- stepped up to the microphone, said something briefly before Relena stepped up and took them helm. But Usagi was all ready tuned out at that point, doing her job, scanning the crowd. She only briefly touched their minds, respecting their privacy, only searching for a specific sort of feeling or thought.

She was all most at the point where she began to think that the crowd was clear, when she picked up on something- it wasn't definite, but...

"I want to get closer to the front." Usagi said, leaning closer to him so that she didn't have to speak to loudly, and disturb the attention of the people around them. Quatre responded with a nod, and somewhat slowly, but surely they took a winding path closer, until Usagi spotted the one she had picked up.

It was a man, an extremely neutral expression on his face, and his hands shoved deeply into his pockets. His thoughts however, now that she actually listened to them, were anything but neutral. This time when she leaned closer to Quatre, her words were not for him alone.

"I've got a possible. Four people ahead of my current location, slightly to the left. Male, late twenties, 180 centimeters, 85 kilos. Dark hair. No overt action as of yet." she said, loud enough only for the microphone embedded in her ear piece to pick up.

"I've got a camera on him, Usagi. You can move on if you want to." Ami's voice came back, but they stayed put for the time being, not wanting to bring attention to themselves yet again.

"I haven't been listening, have I missed anything extremely important?" Usagi asked under her breath, and Quatre shook his head.

"Not yet. I've read it all ready- the important thing isn't till the end." he replied, and Usagi slowly nodded, her eyes wandering though the crowd though she kept her head straight forward. They paused for a moment when they clashed with Hiiro's- though his, like herself and most everyone else, were covered by sunglasses, she could tell he was looking back at her- and she broke the contact, ducking her head slightly slipping a piece of hair behind her ear.

She looked back up, and noticed that the man she had been watching was gone, just as Setsuna's voice came through her ear piece.

"He's moving. Towards the stage- Maxwell he should be directly in your line of sight, do you see him?"

"Aye. That's a preeetty mean look in his eye, lady- should we go a head and get him out?" Duo responded, and Hiiro's voice came in the time.

"Can we do it without raising a fuss?"

"I can." Usagi replied without hesitation, she was all ready slowly moving towards him, Quatre further behind her.

"Are you sure?" It was Lucrezia; "I can send backup, Lieutenant, so you don't need to be reckless."

"I won't be- and I don't need them, no fuss, right?" she responded, and locked eyes with Hiiro once more.

"Everyone on stand-by. Hold positions for now. Tsukino- you have three minutes." he said, and Usagi nodded, before reaching out and taking hold of the man's hand, a bright smile on her face.

"Can you come with me?" she asked, as Duo in front of her, Hiiro to her side, and Quatre behind her secretly watched them. The man blinked at her, and they stared at each other for such a long moment that Hiiro thought he was going to snap-

And then it was over, he was following her, as she lead him through the back of the crowd, as if she was some one he had known once, and hadn't seen for years.

And in the back of his mind, Hiiro knew what it had cost her to expose herself like that, people would surely ask questions about how she had been able to do it. It was if he could feel her, in the back of his mind, seeking refugee from her fears.

"_I knew that being a Preventer, I was more likely than either Rei or Minako to be the one who would end up in a situation where the only way for a thing to go the way it needed to go would to expose myself. I accepted it, I acted upon it, and now I will have to face the consequences of it."_

Why?

"_Because, we need this man. I will not go further than this, manipulating his mind so that he can be taken away quietly, so it must be his decision- he must decide whether to incriminate himself or not."_

You saw it then, that he intended to do something?

"_I wouldn't have gone this far if I hadn't, Hiiro."_

* * *

Hiiro was making his was through a Preventers office, towards the holding and interrogation areas, when he ran into them- Lady Une, Lucrezia, and Zechs. 

"I'm surrounded by former Oz officers." Hiiro muttered dryly in greeting, Lucrezia and Zechs smirked in return, while Lady Une just looked at him pointedly.

"Your young prodigy is quite the young woman, Yui. The security cameras got multiple angles, you know. I can't manage to figure out how she did it- and apparently neither can our detainee who is, however starting to talk after an hour of quite tough questioning." Lady Une said, and Hiiro stared back at her, Lucrezia and Zechs both watching the exchange with unrestrained interest.

"Tsukino is good at what she does, Lady Une, that's why I picked her up. I was told she is still here." he replied after a moment, and Une nodded.

"She is, I asked her to stay until I could speak with her." she answered, "She's in an unused office, just down the hall. Go ahead, I'll be following shortly."

Hiiro nodded and moved on down the way she indicated, until he came upon the only office in the hall that had the blinds covering the window looking in. He entered without knocking, and found Usagi laid out on a couch pushed up against the wall, her arms crossed over her face even upon his entrance.

"He was going after Lady Une. He meant to do it when she took the podium after Relena." she murmured, dropping her arms when he sat down on the couch with her, nudging her feet out of his way.

"Was it really worth it?" he asked, and she smiled and nodded at him.

"Yes. I think so. It is something near unbelievable, what I did- but not impossible for a good actress, yes?" she responded sitting up, her smile turning into a grin, before faltering again; "But the problem with the method is the one it is used upon realizes something happened that they normally wouldn't have allowed."

The room fell into silence for a moment, before Usagi spoke up again; "I don't like doing things like that, it makes me feel sick. So, please, unless the situation absolutely calls for it- don't ask me to do it."

"I won't."Hiiro replied simply, and she nodded, fiddling with the zipper on her jacket.

"Hey- when this over will you have a drink with me?" she asked quietly, looking up at the ceiling; "I can't face Minako right now. But I don't want to avoid it alone."

Hiiro opened his mouth to answer, but Lady Une entered then, and shut the door behind herself before turning one of the chairs facing the desk towards the couch before sitting on it.

"Lieutenant, I need you to be honest with me, all right?" she asked once she had settled herself, her face serious but her tone gentle.

"Yes, Ma'am." Usagi replied quietly, and Lady Une nodded, clasping her hands together.

"I am told, that our detainee has said I was his target. So I am thankful, but I need to know how you did it." she said, and Usagi took a deep breath, staring at her shoes before let it out in a rush and looking up.

"Have you ever read the piece 'A Theory of the Mind'? The prime author is a Doctor Akira Kimisawa M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Tokyo." Usagi asked, and Lady Une shook her head.

"I've heard of the doctor, but not of the piece."

"Kimisawa-sensei focuses on three subjects in it- three teenage girls who had abilities that were unexplainable- but undoubtedly there." Usagi said, dropping her attention back to her shoes as she continued; "One had the ability to foresee the future, and an accuracy rate of over ninety-nine percent. Another, the ability to feel and manipulate emotion. The last, the ability to hear and manipulate thought. He documents all testing done on the subjects of their free will, as well as the results. I can give you a manner to contact him through, if you like."

"Lieutenant, I need you to be clearer with me" Lady Une said, and Usagi looked up at her.

"I'm the girl in the study that can hear thought, Ma'am."

* * *

"Do you think she is telling the truth?" Zechs asked Lady Une, as they and Lucrezia sat in the office that had been given to Lady Une. 

"I contacted the doctor, and after he spoke with the lieutenant, he sent me copies of all of her documentation. Videos, transcripts, recordings, other things that I will have to have a doctor look over.

"It seems extremely plausible, though, and she agreed that she would go through some testing with us. She also agreed to certain people being informed; namely the other pilots and the Prime Minister since they are working with her." she answered, and he nodded.

"What if it is true?" Lucrezia asked, and Une removed her glasses, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"I don't want her turned into some sort of guinea pig, with her stationing her talent could be beyond worth, she would be squandered if the labs got a hold of her." Lady Une said, looking up at them with tired eyes; "If this group is as ruthless as they make themselves out to be, she and the other two in the study may be our best bet against them."

* * *

Usagi slipped into a barstool, Hiiro taking the one next to her, in a near empty sports bar- the TVs all tuned to news channels, instead of the normal fare. 

"Mid-shelf vodka martini, shaken and dry." Usagi told the bartender that approached them, who nodded before turning to Hiiro.

"Scotch." he told the man, and he nodded again before turning to make their drinks, passing Hiiro his glass all most immediately.

"What do you think she'll decide to do?" Usagi asked after her cocktail was presented to her and the bartender moved off, holding the trio of speared olives out of the way as she took a sip.

"Not sure. She's a very honor-bound woman, though. You can trust her." he replied, and Usagi nodded somewhat absently.

"Sometimes I wish I had been born completely normal, you know? It was the worst when I was little, before I met Rei and Minako, and for a little while after. Rei helps, though, the priestess that she is." she commented, leaning against the bar top and looking over at him.

"She seems like she would be good at reminding someone that they are born into the life they were for a reason." Hiiro replied and Usagi nodded, running the tip of her finger around the rim of her glass.

"It was easiest for her too, the control aspect of it all. Probably because of her training as a priestess, but she helped us along until we could do it perfectly on our own. Our mother hen." Usagi said with a slight giggle, making Hiiro shake his head at her.

"Was that really you talking to me before?" he asked quietly, and Usagi nodded bitting her lower lip.

"I'm sorry I intruded like that, but- it makes me sick, I needed to hold onto someone." she said, and he unexpectedly reached over and took hold of her hand, making her blink at him in surprise as a blush spread across her cheeks.

"Don't apologize then, we all need that every now and again." he said, as her blinking slowly came to a stop, a slight smile gracing her lips instead.

"Rei gave me some advice the other day, and I've been trying to find the right time to act on it." Usagi said; "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

When Hiiro nodded, she drew a breath and said; "I don't want to miss an opportunity, Hiiro. I can't have something in front of me, and not act. For all I know, I may not have the time to hope for a second chance.

"I know with Lady Une being around, it's probably an even worse idea than it would normally be- but... I can't be near you, feel the way I do, know you feel the way you do, and not give it a shot. And I can't stand not-"

Usagi stilled, her words stopping, when Hiiro reached up and slid a hand into her hair, bringing her forehead to rest against his, and looking her in the eye.

"I know what you mean." he said, before closing the distance between their lips and kissing her lightly

It wasn't more than a brief moment long, but god damn if Usagi didn't swear she was in heaven for that time, and when he pulled away from her, she was smiling at him.

"Think we'll get busted?" she asked pulling away to raise her glass to her lips, eyebrow cocked in his direction.

"Us? Hn. Never." he replied, taking a drink from his own glass; "We're too good at sneaking around to get caught."

"That's their own fault, too. They encourage us to be good at it."

* * *

Rei probably wouldn't have fallen, if the person she had bumped into hadn't reached out an arm to steady her, but she looked up and smiled her thanks anyway, making Wufei blink at her. 

"I don't suppose you know if Usagi has returned yet?" she asked him, and he shook his head.

"No, she's with Yui. He called in about thirty minutes ago, said she needed a drink. Probably an ear, too- but he didn't say it." he answered, and Rei nodded, checking her watch.

"I suppose I'll have to track her down if I want to see her tonight. Thanks, Chang." she said, before waving and making her way down the hall that lead to the entryway.

Rei retrieved her jacket, purse, and keys from a servant who waited for her, before making her way from the house, to her car, and into the business district. The bar she was looking for wasn't hard to find, and she parked next to Hiiro's motorcycle.

Usagi smiled when Rei slid into the barstool next to hers, drawing the bartender back down to them.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up." Usagi said, making Rei smile back at her, as the bartender requested her drink.

"Your best cognac, please." she answered him before turning back to Usagi and Hiiro; "I didn't want to make you dread today, I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"It's all right. We had some warning, you get attuned to these kind of days after a while, you can feel it coming." Usagi replied as Rei took her glass from the bartender, sipping from it before nodding.

"I hoped you would. It wasn't all bad though, was it?" she asked, glancing over at them with a grin on her lips. "No, I suppose not."

"So what brought you all the way out here? You usually don't track me down so quickly." Usagi inquired, before pulling one of the olives off the plastic spear and popping it into her mouth.

"Haruka and Michiru are in town, I had called them when I realized they'd be here now. For a private engagement, nothing you would have heard about. They're meeting me here, I just happened to know which bar you'd pick." Rei said, flashing them a grin, and Usagi sat up a bright smile on her face.

"Ruka and Michi? Seriously? No way! Wait, were is Hotaru?" she asked rapidly, making Rei giggle at her.

"Hotaru is with Tou-san. She's better, but I still didn't want to risk taking her on a shuttle. It's one of the reasons they left her with me." she said before two long arms suddenly wrapped around their shoulders, a deep but still feminine voice speaking in their ears.

"Rei, you didn't tell us Koneko would be here."the short blonde haired woman said, as Usagi let out a squeal and hugged her tightly before turning her towards Hiiro, seeing the fair skinned woman standing behind him, a smile on her face.

"Michi! Konbanwa! Ruka, Michi- this is Major Hiiro Yui, my squad commander. Shosa- this is Haruka Tenoh and Michiru Kaioh. They were our seniors in high school- and my little brother is their adoptive daughter's senior." she explained, as Hiiro shook Haruka's extended hand.

"Is the Major treating you? That bad of day, hm?" Michiru asked with a smile, sitting herself into the barstool next to Hiiro as Haruka moved to sit next to Rei.

"It could have been worse." Hiiro said, as Usagi nodded along in agreement.

"A lot worse."

* * *

"Will you guys be okay getting back?" Rei asked, looking at Hiiro and Usagi- who was half-asleep, and leaning against him for support. Hiiro chuckled and looked at Usagi, before nodding. 

"She's awake enough to hold on." he said, and Rei smiled before fishing her keys out of her purse.

"Okay. Will you let her know to call me in the morning? I'll probably be awake just as early as you guys." she said, and Hiiro nodded again before they went their separate ways, Rei getting into her car and pulling out of the parking lot as Hiiro fished his own key from his pocket.

"Usa." he said, and she looked up at him, blinking sleepily at him. "Home?"

Usagi nodded, straightening herself up and taking her helmet from him when he handed it to her. She slid on behind him before pulling her helmet on, lifting her feet to the rests and holding on to him, resting her head against his back.

Hiiro smiled beneath the cover of his face shield, before starting the motorcycle and pulling onto the road.

Quatre's house was mostly dark when he pulled up to it, but Minako and Relena were waiting for them in the foyer, and Minako grinned at Usagi, who was by this point more than half asleep and Hiiro was having to help her stand.

"We left word for the gate to let us know when you got home. Every one is worried about her." Relena said softly as Minako slipped herself under her friend's other arm.

"She's fine. We ran into her friend Rei and a few others she knew, and talked herself to exhaustion." he said and Minako giggled as Usagi blinked and looked up at them.

"It's not polite to talk about someone when they're in the room you know." she said with a yawn, taking on her own weight.

"Sounds like something you would do, though." Minako said, making Usagi stick the tip of her tongue out at her as she stepped away from them.

"I'm hungry." she murmured, and Minako laughed before taking hold of Usagi's hand and leading her off to the kitchen.

"Taking care of your counseling duties?" Relena asked, as the two of them made their way up the stairs and towards Quatre's office.

"Yes. Any new information?" he asked, and Relena shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No, nothing yet. Hiiro, can I ask you something?" she asked, stopping a few feet from the door to the office, and he stopped with her shrugging his shoulders.

"Are you involved with her?" Relena asked, and he shot her slight glare.

"Why?"

"Hiiro, I'm not asking as the Prime Minister, I'm asking as a very old friend. We've known each other for how long now?" she sighed out, frustration seeping into her voice. Hiiro studied her for a moment, before turning away and asking her; "Who all is in there?"

Relena shook her head; "It's just the others. Dr. Mizuno is all ready in bed, as well."

Confusing her further, Hiiro moved on, waving for her to follow him into Quatre's office, shutting the door behind her and looking up to find all of the other pilots staring at him intently.

"What's up with our newbie, Hiiro?" Duo asked, as they all settled themselves in chairs and couches around a coffee table.

"Trowa. You caught the name of the book Usagi was reading in the library that one day?" Hiiro asked him, and Trowa nodded, not surprised by the question.

"Theory of the Mind. I read it the other day, since I've heard of most of the authors before." he answered, "Interesting, but nearly unprovable unless one or more of the subjects steps forward again."

"One of them has stepped forward. For the Preventers only." Hiiro responded, and one of Trowa's eyebrows raised -the visible one- while both Duo and Wufei looked between them impatiently.

"What the hell is this 'Theory of the Mind'?" Wufei asked, and it was Relena that spoke up this time.

"It's a paper on a research study, conducted on three teenage girls with strong ESP abilities." she said; "Mamoru told me about it- the chief doctor was one of his professors in Japan."

"So, what does this have to do with Usagi?" Duo asked, blinking rapidly as Wufei fell back into his chair, staring hard at Hiiro.

"Usagi used her ability to read thought to manipulate the man who was going to attempt to assassinate Lady Une. I knew before hand of her talent, and asked her to use it to search the crowd for hostiles." Hiiro told Duo, making the braided man fall back into his own chair in surprise. "She found one, and when I asked to do it with no fuss, she decided to expose her talent to bring him in safely."

"Usagi has ESP?" Quatre asked, his brow knit together, and Hiiro nodded. "How did you know before hand?"

"She sometimes picks up surface thoughts, and she read mine once." he said, before a tap rang out on the door, they blinked and look at each other, before Quatre called out entrance. Usagi stood at the door, a cup of coffee in her hand.

"I couldn't help it, reading you- you're loud, Shosa." she said with a slight grin, before asking; "May I join you?"

Quatre nodded, and Hiiro moved over so there was space on the couch for her. With a smile Usagi stepped in, shutting the door behind herself before joining them, setting her cup on the table.

"You four, too- your surface thoughts are loud. I have to say, my control has gotten a lot better being around you, but it gave me a headache at first." she said softly, looking up at them with slightly fearful eyes. "And your nightmares, they effect everyone you know, not just me."

Duo gulped, his eyes slightly wide as he stared at her.

"Y-you see our nightmares?" he asked, and Usagi smiled at him, her eyes softening slightly.

"I try to calm them for you, too. But, they're strong, and it's hard sometimes. I don't understand them though, they're too personal to all of you." she said, before looking over at Hiiro, smiling at him, adding; "I was asked to give you proof if you wished for it. We're a team right now, yes? And the one that relies on us for protection- I need you to still trust me."

"Oh! Read one of our minds!" Duo pipped up, suddenly excited, making Usagi giggle, before he added; "But not mine, not first anyway, no thanks. Creeeeepy."

"Do I have a volunteer?" she asked, looking around the room, before hey eyes settled on Wufei; "I suspect you will have to experience it, to believe."

"I suppose." he grunted out, and Usagi smiled at him, and for the briefest moment he could have sworn- what he didn't know, but something happened, and tears welled in Usagi's eyes suddenly, a hand coming up to cover her mouth.

"Usagi?" Relena asked, worriedly as Wufei squirmed under her gaze.

"You were married, once. When you were young, and she died... It was arranged, but..."

"Woah, Wufei was married?" Duo asked, turning to look at the Chinese man, who was looking back at Usagi in surprise.

"Meilan. Nataku- she died in an attack on our colony."he said, and Usagi nodded.

"It was the moment you truly decided to be a Gundam pilot, wasn't it?" she asked, and nearly everyone choked, while she just smiled softly at him, adding; "Exposing a memory that pivotal in your life as a pilot, exposes the fact that you were a pilot."

"But that explains the bond between you all." she said, picking up her cup from the table.

"So do your abilities explain your bond between you and your two friends?" Trowa asked, and Usagi smirked at him slightly.

"Do you think I will tell you who the other two are that easily? Come, Trowa, I'm stronger willed than that." she murmured in reply, before taking a drink of her coffee. "We signed privacy agreements, we can't reveal each other."

* * *

"So your first day was supposed to be yesterday? Wow." Usagi muttered to the young woman across the bar top from her. 

"What timing, huh? Makoto Kino's the name by the way." she said, stretching her hand across the space separating them, which Usagi accepted and shook.

"Second Lieutenant Usagi Tsukino, I'm a member of Miss Darlian's guard." Usagi replied, before turning back to her plate of breakfast, up earlier than everyone but Hiiro, who was attached to his laptop at the table behind her.

"You got to witness yesterday's insanity first hand? Bet that was fun." Makoto said, and Usagi nodded her sarcastic agreement, blissfully consuming the last of her pancakes.

"They were amazing, Makoto." she sighed out once she had swallowed the last bit, Makoto laughed and took her plates from her.

"Thank you, I'm glad you liked them. Need more coffee yet?" she asked in reply, and Usagi shook her head, hopping down from her chair.

"I'm okay, I'll talk to you later. Welcome to the madness, by the way." she said, with a smile that Makoto returned before Usagi moved into the breakfast nook and slid into the chair next to Hiiro.

"New cook." he commented, leaning back into his seat and looking over at her.

"Yea. She seems familiar, though. And those pancakes were to die for." Usagi said, picking up one of the newspapers from the table and flipping through it, asking; "Do you think they'll postpone the rest of the meetings?"

"They're deciding right now." Hiiro replied, pointing to the screen of his laptop; "Real-time transcripts, Relena is in a conference call with the other high ranking overseers."

"Is it okay for me to read?" Usagi asked, blinking up at him.

"It isn't very interesting, but if you want to, you can. They're getting ready to call the vote." He said, and Usagi peeked over his shoulder.

"_The vote is to postpone, due to the current atmosphere of preparing for near-imminent war."_

"Hiiro, I missed the end of Relena's announcement. What'd she say?" Usagi asked, her eyes wide as she looked up at him.

"That if the Black Moon wouldn't agree to talks within twenty-four hours, we are going to war. They're threatening of children took Relena's normally unlimited mercy from them."

* * *

Author's Note: 

Much luff, guys. Hope you liked.

B'resheet

02/19/08 - 10:48:28 PM


	7. Chapter Six

Rise  
B'resheet

Disclaimer: Insert standard disclaimer here. I do not own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, including any and all characters or other trademarks associated with either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. I do however claim right to any original characters or original situations included in this story.

* * *

"Relena still won't go back to Earth." Hiiro said, glancing around the office at all of his current team before turning back to the windows he had been staring out of since they arrived. 

"Which means we're still on guard duty." Duo sighed out, and Hiiro just nodded. "Why does she have to be so stubborn?"

"Zechs is almost to the point of tying her up and forcing her." Wufei commented from the couch, and Ami blinked.

"No one has the authority to overrule her for her own safety?" she asked, puzzled, and Wufei and Duo looked at each other before looking at Hiiro.

"As her current chief of guard, I could. But, right now there is no immediate threat to her, so we stay." he replied, and Trowa looked over to Usagi, who was sitting on the ledge of the window next to Hiiro. Her silver-blue eyes were drifting, far into her thoughts, seemingly not hearing a word they were saying.

"Usagi?" Quatre asked from beside him, and her eyes snapped into focus as she turned to look at them with a grin hiding slightly on her lips.

"Someone has given their word that Miss Darlian is in no danger as of this time. The enemy will be indiscriminate when they come, but she has us. No harm will come to her, and she will leave when things become truly bad."

"Who has given their word?" Duo asked.

"A very dear old friend."

* * *

Usagi smiled at Rei, when she entered Quatre's mansion that morning, hugging her tightly and dragging her up the stairs and down the hallway of bedrooms. 

"Shosa wanted to ask you somethings, he says it's okay if you don't have an answer, but..." Usagi said, looking down at the floor as they walked, and Rei squeezed her arm as they stopped in front of one of the many doors.

"It's fine, I know." Rei said as Usagi tapped on the door, Hiiro opening it shortly after and letting the women in.

"Thank you for coming, Hino-san." Hiiro said, leading them out to his balcony, larger than Usagi's with chairs set out on it.

"It's no problem, Major. I trust Usa's trust of you, I think I've shown that all ready. What sort of help do you need?" Rei asked, taking one of the chairs as he and Usagi followed, settling themselves into a crooked half circle.

"Relena still refuses to leave, I can tell her to go back, but I understand why she stays." he said, leaning forward and clasping his hands. "I need to know if it's safe for her to stay, but no one has an idea as to what their next moves will be."

"So, you ask of me, what does my Eye see?" Rei asked in reply, and Hiiro nodded while Usagi stared at her, uncertainty in her eyes. Rei let out a sigh; "Trust her, she has been among these things for how many years now? The Prime Minister will know when she must leave. She will be safe until then, though I can only guarantee her safety. You are her guards for a reason."

"Injury or death?" Usagi asked, her voice somewhat tight, and Hiiro and Rei looked over to her.

"A chance of both. Though neither is certain." she answered, and Usagi nodded.

"Have you eaten?" Usagi asked suddenly, standing up, and Rei shook her head. "Michael has a new assistant, she's really good- I don't think she's much older than us either. You should stay and have lunch with us."

* * *

Relena let out a sigh and looked out over Quatre's back lawn, Usagi lounging in the chair next to hers on the patio. 

"Thank you, Usagi." she said, and her fellow blonde looked over at her and smiled, crossing her legs and leaning over them.

"I didn't do that much, Miss Darlian." she said and Relena shook her head.

"Hiiro told me, that you called a friend to get advice for him." she said, and Usagi shrugged her shoulders lightly.

"If she knew she could have helped, and we hadn't contacted her, she would have wrung my neck." she replied, and Relena giggled softly. Usagi chuckled herself before saying; "It surprises me- how easily the six of you trust that we can do what I say we can do."

"We learned early in life, that you have to trust the people around you. Accept that they know their abilities and limits, and trust them. Else, you'll make yourself fail worrying about them." Relena said, and Usagi nodded.

"It helps also, that they have done things that some people would say were impossible, ne?" she asked, and Relena nodded, brushing her hair from her face.

"We were still children during the war, despite the things we did. We didn't have the same mind for limits that the adults did, especially the boys- they pushed beyond them without realizing it." Relena said, and Usagi smirked slightly, looking out over the lawn.

"I think you're the only one that would still refer to those men as 'the boys', Miss Darlian." she said, and Relena laughed and shook her head.

"I still catch Lady Une and Lucrezia calling them such every once and a while." she replied as Mamoru came outside and settled into the chair on Relena's other side, passing them both glasses of water.

"Usagi- did you know that Setsuna knows Haruka and Michiru?" he asked, and Usagi looked over at him and blinked, shaking her head.

"I didn't! How?" she asked, and he shrugged.

"I'm not sure. It sounds like they went to school together at some point." he said, and Usagi nodded sipping from her glass.

"Starting tomorrow I'm going to be have meetings over dinner here, until things have been resolved or we go back to Earth." Relena commented after a moment of silence; "I want to have something similar with Hiiro, you, and the others- maybe during lunch. More than likely, Hiiro will start split you into two groups if Lady Une starts sending assignments. I want to make sure everyone is up-to-date on everything that is going on."

Usagi nodded as Quatre appeared in the doorway into the house, and Relena looked up at him and let out a sigh.

"Breaks over, huh?" she asked, and he nodded. Relena and Usagi stood, and she escorted Relena as far as Quatre's office, before leaving her in his and Trowa's care.

With a sigh, Usagi wandered to Minako's office, where said woman was bent over paperwork, and Rei was laid out on the couch underneath the windows. Usagi dropped herself into one of the chairs in front of Minako's desk, and stretched her legs out in front of her.

"You think we're really going to go to war?" Minako asked, not looking up from the papers she had a pen to, and both Rei and Usagi lifted their heads to look at her.

"Probably." Usagi said, but Rei's definite "Yes." that followed right behind it made Minako finally raise her eyes to lock with Usagi's.

"You think this war is what you saw in Usagi's future?" she asked, and Usagi looked from Minako to Rei, who was already looking at her.

"Yes, probably." Rei said, and Usagi felt a tight knot in her chest suddenly form, her eyes flicking back and forth between her friends worried faces.

"How-? How long... till?" she asked brokenly, and Rei shook her head, unable to answer. Then, the timing startling all three, a knock came upon the office door, and Minako cleared her throat before giving the inquisitor permission.

"Mina's finally gotten serious, hm?" Haruka asked, as she opened the door, to reveal Michiru and Setsuna standing behind her; "May we all come in?"

Minako stood up and nodded happily, skipping around her desk to give both Michiru and Haruka brief hugs, smiling brightly at them, asking; "How did the two of you get up the drive, did Usagi talk to you and not tell me?"

"They know Setsuna, Mina." Usagi said, making the blonde blink at the woman standing with them. Quickly she shooed them all into chairs, starting to shut the door behind them, but Setsuna shook her head.

"We have two others joining us." she said mysteriously, and Minako peeked out her door to find Ami, and the new cook Makoto, coming towards her office, confused looks on their faces.

"Have you noticed anything about the plants recently, Usagi?" Setsuna asked, as Makoto entered, and Usagi blinked, her confusion deepening.

"The plants?"

"Yes, the plants." Haruka said, and Usagi's brow scrunched in her thought, and she looked over at the flower boxes outside of Minako's window.

"They've grown a lot since I was here yesterday." Rei commented, and Usagi looked up at Ami and Makoto- they were running out of chairs, so Makoto opted to stand.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking away from the newest additions.

"Did you ever think you would stand in the same room as seven other people who shares abilities as unique as your own?" Setsuna asked, making Rei, Minako, Makoto, Ami, and Usagi look around at each other.

"You mean..." Minako started, but trailed off, and Makoto looked over at her, a sheepish smile on her lips.

"I'm afraid the plants are my fault, I can't help them feeding off residue." she said, and Usagi again looked up at her and blinked, as once more a tap came upon the door.

"Wonder who that is." Haruka murmured as Minako returned to the door once more, opening it and letting out a squeak, before letting the person in. Setsuna blinked as Hiiro entered the room, her lips twitched ever so slightly.

"I wondered what the change was... I knew something wasn't right." she said, as Hiiro glared slightly at them.

"You're giving me a headache, gathered like this." he said, and Setsuna, Haruka, and Michiru glanced startled at each other.

"You didn't give me a chance to tell you, but Hiiro has been exposed to my talent and appears to be sensitive to them all." Usagi said, making every one looked at her in shock, as Setsuna shook her head in disbelief.

"You just can't live normally can you, zero-one." she said, earning her an even harsher glare from him.

"Setsuna, please." Usagi whispered, and the older one looked over at her, her eyes softening. "Why did you bring us together?"

"In a time you don't remember -and that I will not urge you to- us eight, and one other who in not here, protected this world. It seems that, despite the fact that we were born free from our previous destinies, we may need to do so once more, though pretty much all of us are now limited to defense and back-up positions instead of the front line we once were." Setsuna answered as Hiiro moved to stand next to Usagi, Minako plopping herself back into the chair behind her desk. Usagi blinked at her, and looked over to Rei- who was having the same response.

"Hotaru." Usagi said, and Michiru nodded; "May I ask her ability?"

"Ironically, she Heals." Haruka said, and both Usagi and Hiiro stared at her intently, before Usagi looked up at him.

"Hotaru has been sickly pretty much her whole life, never had much strength." she explained before looking down at the floor.

"Dr. Mizuno? Your talent?" Minako asked, and Ami looked up, blinking at them with a blush on her cheeks.

"I can't believe you've managed to hide it from me for this long!" Usagi said, and Ami blushed shaking her head.

"It's somewhat useless- except in a battle where you would need to confuse someone." she said softly, before asking; "May I have water?"

Someone poured a glass and it was passed along to her, the doctor touched the glass and a fog emerged in the room, surrounding herself in it. Curiously, Usagi leaned forward and touched the substance, jerking her hand back in surprise.

"It's cold." she murmured as it started to dissipate, leaving Ami sitting there looking perfectly warm.

"I can choose if it affects someone or not." she said, and Haruka let out a whistle, making her blush again. Michiru smiled slightly and took the glass from Ami's fingers.

"Mine is similar, though probably more useful in an attack." she said softly, taking another, empty glass, filling it from the one she held, but the first glass, the amount it held stayed the same, and Michiru added; "Small scale, of course, but I'm still testing my limits."

"Usagi, what is yours?" Makoto asked, and all but Hiiro, Rei, and Minako looked towards her.

"I can read and manipulate minds." she said after a moment of silence, and Setsuna looked between her and Hiiro.

"You touched each others minds?" she asked and this time all eyes between the pair, curious.

"Yes." she murmured, and Hiiro set a hand on her shoulder, making her look up and smile. "Twice now, and this one is so collected he is able to communicate back to me."

"I think collected is an understatement." Ami giggled out, and Usagi joined her, despite the slight glare he was giving the two of them.

"I'm out numbered." he muttered, and Usagi snorted, trying to suppress a laugh.

"Oh lord, don't start Usagi. You'll scare everyone in the house." Rei said, and Usagi turned and stuck her tongue out at her.

"Rei, Minako? Willing to share?" Haruka asked, and the girls exchanged looks before nodding.

"I'm surprise you haven't figured it out-" Minako said, but Ami shook her head.

"I know. Rei sees the future, visually and without any type of aid, yes? And Minako feels and controls emotion." she said, and the two nodded again.

"The girls from the study, of course." Michiru said, looking between the three, adding; "Usa, I'm surprised you never told Chiba-san, even though you went to one of his professors."

Usagi blushed as she felt Hiiro's eyes on her, Rei and Minako taking in his reaction, making Minako ask; "She didn't tell you, Major? That you're the first one she told outside of us two and the doctor?"

Both Usagi and he shook their heads, and Rei smiled at them, she was surprised Minako couldn't feel it, she could see them- the red strings that were slowly tying them together.

"What about you two, and Makoto- the plants?" Usagi asked, looking first at Setsuna and Haruka and then to the tall brown-haired girl, who laughed softly at her question. Makoto touched her thumb and forefinger together, pulling them apart to show a thin trail of electricity.

"It's like lightening on a large scale- and for some reason I can also accelerate the growth of plants." she said, brushing her fingers across her pants, releasing the charge.

"Lightening helps plants grow." Ami said, and Makoto shrugged.

"I've been told that, so I guess so." she replied, and they looked over at the remaining pair.

"Air. I won't demonstrate for the sake of Mina's office." Haruka said, and Minako sent her a grateful look.

"I am the opposite of Miss Hino." Setsuna said, "I see the past. Any moment, any location I wish."

"So, now that we know each other exist: do you all wish to take up a now ancient pledge, and take guard of our home once more?" Haruka asked, and the room fell into silence.

"Despite the things we may have done in another time, another place- this place, this home of ours will be guarded by more than just us." Usagi said, breaking a quiet that was becoming unsettling, and she looked up at Hiiro as she continued; "The guard has been taken over by a new group. Either we find our places among them, or we will only get in their way."

"We agree, Usagi. Whether or not those we assist have knowledge of us or not, we will not obstruct the movements of the Preventers. Lady Une is a formidable woman." Setsuna said, before looking up at Hiiro. He looked back at her, before shaking his head.

"I'm not going to be your link, Meioh. This is something that needs to go to someone even higher than I." he said, and Setsuna's eyes narrowed slightly at him, her eyes once again drifting between him and Usagi, pondering.

"Who then do you recommend?" Michiru asked, and Usagi shook her head.

"Michi, you know who you're talking to- when Shosa says above his head..." she murmured, looking up at him once more.

"I mean Relena and Une." Hiiro finished after a moment of tense silence; "They are the only people who can command me."

"Hiding right inside the system." Haruka said, and Hiiro nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Stick around, Lady Une is meeting Relena for dinner here, if you want to talk to them."

* * *

Relena was about to explode with curiosity, as Usagi and Hiiro led she and Lady Une to Quatre's larger private lounge. Hiiro had appeared at the end of their dinner, the blonde quietly in toe, to say that they there was a group of people that needed to speak to them. 

Lady Une, on the other hand, was intently studying the pair in front of them, Usagi walking next to Hiiro her hands tightly clenched behind her back. The doctors that were looking over the files for her had sent her a preliminary report, they were extremely interested, and wished for a chance to attempt to duplicate the tests as soon as possible.

When Hiiro led them into a room full of women, including Quatre's assistant and the daughter of the Vice Minister of Defense, Lady Une paused, standing just inside as Usagi shut the door behind them, asking as she passed; "Ma'am?"

With a nod, Une joined her and the others in taking a seat, as Rei glance flicked to her before turning to Relena.

"What's going on?" Relena asked softly, and Usagi looked up at her, bitting her lip.

"We eight, we all have talents, we know of another but she cannot be here." she said, and Relena's eyes widened, looking around at the women gathered there.

"Only women are born with the trait?" Lady Une asked, and Setsuna shook her head.

"Born with the trait? No, no- I'm sure the Major and his friends have the_trait_, but it seems to predominately female when it comes to it being active." Setsuna spoke up drawing Relena's attention.

"Setsuna?" she asked, and the woman nodded.

"Why do you say I have the trait, Meioh?" Hiiro asked suddenly, and she smiled mysteriously up at him.

"You initiated the first contact between the two of you- am I wrong?" she asked, and Usagi shook her head.

"I reached, he took hold." she said, and Setsuna's eyes moved to her.

"He made the move, he met you partway- to be able to do that, he must have the trait at least, if not a latent ability- our successors were well chosen, Usagi." Setsuna said, and Usagi dropped her eyes to the floor, twiddling her thumbs.

"You wanted to speak with us?" Lady Une asked, drawing everyone's attention back to her, and Haruka nodded.

"We would like to offer our services, such as it were- I think most of us will not be willing to go as far as join the Preventers, but we want to help, however we can."

* * *

Usagi sleepily blinked her eyes open, confused by the appearance of the dark room, and the glow that was apparently coming from behind her. She was still in Quatre's house, for sure, but... 

Oh.

Usagi blinked her eyes open further as her memories organized themselves, she had gone with Hiiro back to his room after their impromptu meeting had ended with another one scheduled for tomorrow. She must have fallen asleep just after she had climbed into his bed next to him, his laptop all ready in place.

Usagi rolled over, and watched him, his eyes intent on the screen and his fingers flying over the keyboard at a speed Usagi would never achieve herself. She may have overcome her clumsiness as a young teenager, but her technical aptitude would never be a strong point.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked, sitting up as he looked over at her, the slightest hint of a smile on his lips.

"About an hour." he said, closing his laptop and setting it aside, gathering her up in his arms, surprising her and making Usagi blush lightly.

"Is everyone else asleep all ready?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"Minako is still awake, with Rei. Relena, Trowa, and Wufei as well. Maybe Duo." Hiiro answered, and Usagi blinked at him, a grin on her lips.

"Oh-all-knowing-Shosa, how do you do it?" she asked with a giggle and he glared lightly at her, but she just giggled more at his look.

"I get feeds to my laptop from the surveillance cameras." he said, and Usagi nodded in understanding, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I hope we find out what their first move is before they make it." she said, lightly tracing his jaw line with her fingertips. Hiiro nodded, and took hold of her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm.

* * *

"Sir? What should I do? The Major won't come in, it is nearly three in the morning." the man sitting at the desk next to where Wufei stood looking at the screens in front of him. "Sir?" 

Wufei sighed, and raised a hand to his ear, saying; "Who is awake and closest to Hiiro's room? It looks like our fearless leader chose the wrong night to turn in at a decent hour."

"I'm right down the hall." Duo's voice came in, and Wufei nodded.

"Will you go get him and have him come to the control room?"

* * *

Duo smiled at Minako as he passed her and Rei in the hallway outside of Hiiro's room, heading to Minako's own. With a sigh he tapped on the door and waited, he tapped again and wondered if he wasn't being loud enough, but there were people asleep along the hallway. He'd get yelled at for sure if he pounded trying to wake Hiiro up. 

Sighing, Duo crossed his fingers that his friend wouldn't be in a sour mood when he woke up to find someone in his room without permission. Slowly, he opened the door, and stuck his head into the room, finding it dark and completely silent, the only light filtering in through the windows, quietly he slipped the rest of the way in and shut the door behind himself. Fearing the moment Hiiro woke up, Duo tiptoed slowly over to his bedside- but he froze when he realized the major wasn't alone, her blonde hair covering his otherwise bare chest.

Unlucky, Duo cursed himself when Hiiro's dark blue eyes snapped open and looked at him, death slowly creeping into them.

"I'll wait outside, but you're needed." Duo squeaked before quickly removing himself from the cold glare of Hiiro's eyes. True to his word, though, Duo leaned against the wall outside his door, and it was less than two minutes before Hiiro was shutting the door behind himself, his eyes closed and clouded.

"Duo," Hiiro said as they made their way down the hall to the stairs, "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know Hiiro. I mean, I know I should tell someone, but- I don't know. You smile a lot around her, you know?" he said, linking his fingers behind his head, and looking sideway at Hiiro.

"I know." Hiiro said, shoving his hands into his pockets; "I didn't mean for things to come to this point, but this sort of thing has been happening a lot lately. War, her exposing her abilities, the relationship we have."

"Dominoes." Duo commented, and Hiiro grunted his agreement. "Do you really like her, or is it just a physical attraction?"

"I don't mind answering, but I'd like to know why you want to know." he said, and Duo shrugged slightly, looking away.

"No one's really took notice, with how busy things have been no one has the leisure to gossip, but I spend a lot of time with Miss Aino. She's a very sweet young lady, and cares a lot about her friends- if some kind of misunderstanding hurt Usagi, she'd be in knots." he answered, and Hiiro nodded, sending a smirk over in his direction.

"Then, it's not just physical, Duo." Hiiro said, pausing, looking away from him; "Maybe you'll understand what I mean, when I say I've seen a glimpse of her soul, and she is nothing like anything I've experienced."

Hiiro chuckled uncomfortably, running a hand through his hair- still as wild as the day they had met, but kept somewhat shorter. Shaking his head, Hiiro starting walking again, saying; "I wonder if I'm going insane a lot these days."

"Don't blame you. Having a woman four years your junior come in and turn your world upside down is unsettling." Duo said, patting Hiiro on the shoulder.

"Minako doing it to you too?" Hiiro asked, opening a door on another set of stairs, which they slowly made their way down.

"Yep." he replied, and Hiiro shook his head.

"Just wait, Duo. I don't think she has unleashed everything on you yet." Hiiro said, opening the door at the bottom of the stairs leading into the control room, down in the basement, once adjacent to a hanger, but the doors leading to the hallway connecting the two had long been kept locked.

"What do you mean by that?" Duo asked, blinking at Hiiro as the stopped next to Wufei.

"You'll find out soon enough, I think." Hiiro said, shaking his head before turning his head to Wufei, asking; "What's going on?"

"This was transmitted from a satellite about thirty minutes ago." Wufei answered, touching a file on the screen in front of him, and video began playing on the large screen in the middle of several smaller ones lining one wall, as Wufei continued; "Our sole consistent video feed on the dark side of the moon."

Wufei selected an area and enlarged it, bringing up a closer view of the surface showing a fair number of mobile suites and other heavy war equipment gathered around a fairly small building, nearly indistinguishable from the surface. Then, suddenly, one of the suits moved, raising a cannon and pointing it in the direction of the satellite, there was light, and then the screen went to static.

"They must have been keeping them underground. We know where they are, but probably won't be able to get another chance to spy on them like that." Hiiro muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the screen, before turning and looking at Wufei, asking; "How likely is it that what we saw was all they have?"

"Not very. If they are confidante enough to threaten us the way they did, they must have more." Wufei said, shaking his head.

"You can't forget the chance of biochemical warfare, either." Usagi said from the doorway, in her pajama's and robe, her shoulder and head resting against the frame. They all turned and looked at her, a sudden dread in their eyes.

"It's been banned for hundreds of years." Duo said softly, but Wufei shook his head.

"That hasn't stopped others from using it." he said, as Usagi and Hiiro's eyes locked, she was trying to force something from her lips, he could tell- something she was scared to say.

"You can't forget there's a chance that they may have people like me with them either, or that some may join their cause in the process." she said softly, and all of them felt a chill go down their spines- a talent like Usagi's in the hands of someone ruthless or lacking in morals would be something they never wanted to face.

"Shinigami, I hope not." Duo said, looking off towards the screens on the wall, though not really looking at them.

"I think we all hope not." Usagi replied, finally stepping into the room, shutting the door behind herself and walking over to drop herself into a chair, asking; "May I see this footage?"

Wufei nodded, tapped a command onto his screen, and the screen in front of the chair she sat came to life, and began showing the video.

"What are you doing up, Tsukino?" Wufei asked, as he watched her blink the last of the sleep from her eyes, bitting her lip at the scene she saw.

"Dunno. Something woke me up, I think, but I couldn't get back to sleep." she answered with a shrug, and Wufei reached out and smacked Duo.

"How many other people did you bother? The only person I said to wake up was Yui!" he said, and Usagi turned away, hiding both her blush and her smile from the Chinese man. She thought she had heard Duo's voice when she first woke, but Hiiro had told her to go back to sleep when she had sat up after he had left the bed.

"I'm a light sleeper, Wufei." Usagi said, in an attempt to save Duo from his wrath. "It isn't the first time someone in the hall has woken me. I just usually get back to sleep."

"Still." Wufei muttered, and Usagi shook her head, sending Duo an apologetic smile.

"Are they going to be using this information immediately, you think?" she asked, looking back at the video and Wufei and Hiiro both nodded.

"They'll probably start bombardment the instant they get confirmation." Wufei said, and Usagi blinked at the screen before turning back to them.

"How are they getting confirmation?" she inquired, and the three men looked between each other, taking their time in giving her an answer, making her temper simmer under the surface.

"I haven't decided yet." Hiiro said after a moment, and all anger drained from her, leaving a cold chill in her spine.

"So, it's back to work." Usagi murmured, looking away again, as Hiiro nodded. "And you don't know who you're sending yet?"

Hiiro nodded again and Usagi restlessly drummed her fingers against the surface in front of her, saying, "You know just as well as I do, that it'll be easiest with me along."

"You'll exhaust yourself if you keep wanting to do everything. It may be easiest, but you don't have to go." he replied, and Usagi looked up at him, her eyes thinning, but he kept looking forward.

"I'll let you know tomorrow." he said finally, and after a moment Usagi pushed away from the terminal at which she sat, standing- excusing herself and leaving for her bed.

"Dude, I think you've accomplished a first among us." Duo said, watching as she left, and Hiiro looked over at him, his non understanding showing. "I think Usagi's pissed."

"From what I have been told if she was pissed, we all would have known, and there would be no doubt." Hiiro said, before shaking his head, adding; "She is going to waste herself if she keeps this up, and she knows it just as well as I do."

"She does have a point though. Tsukino would make it easier for us to get enough people in to get a count." Wufei said, and Hiiro nodded his own agreement.

* * *

Usagi's light was still on, shining under her door, when Hiiro returned to his room an hour later. He paused for a moment before continuing on down to her door, tapping softly on it. He could hear her call from inside, and he opened the door enough to look in on her. Usagi sat on her bed, looking back at him, her laptop open next to her, a shoe box in her lap, and photos spread out around her. 

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" he asked, and she nodded, looking back down at the picture in her hands. Hiiro blinked, and asked; "May I come in?"

Usagi blinked up at him and smiled, nodding- saying; "Yeah, of course. I'm sorry- I didn't want to seem upset, I'm just tired."

"Then why aren't you asleep?" he asked, stepping the rest of the way in and shutting the door. Usagi shook her head as he settled down next to her.

"I got an email from Mom. I should be proud, y'know? Honored, but- I can't help but fear for him, he's only seventeen." she said, as he slipped the picture she held in her fingers, two adults -her parents, he assumed- a teenage Usagi, her hair streaming from buns on top of her head, and a boy a few years her junior.

"Shingo is enlisting early because of the war." she said, pointing to the boy in the picture; "He wants me to be his sponsor, even though he could have someone more well known. He used to be the most annoying little squirt, but he grew up to be everything a big sister could hope for."

"Are those the odangos I've heard about?" he asked, and she blushed, taking the picture back from him.

"Hai." she murmured, before asking; "I'm not going to be able to go to Brussels to sign with him, am I?"

"We'll see, when is he going?" Hiiro replied, and Usagi looked over at her laptop.

"Next week."

* * *

Everyone was eating breakfast in Quatre's dinning room, for once- because the table could fit them all. The five Gundam Pilots, Relena, Lady Une, Lucrezia, Zechs, Usagi, Minako, Rei, Makoto, Ami, Setsuna, Haruka, and Michiru- who was making the only conversation, talking about her love of violin with Quatre. The rest of them had been silent since sitting down, the unknowing ones curious, and the knowing ones nervous. 

Usagi looked over at Hiiro when she felt his hand give hers a brief squeeze underneath the table, and she smiled slightly, while he just nodded. She let out a sigh, and looked to Relena- who had been waiting for her to do so, and caught everyone's attention, directing it towards the younger blonde.

"I've been asked to speak on behalf of these knuckleheads." she said, making Haruka laugh outright, which relaxed Usagi, as she leaned against the table, catching the eye of each of the pilots and Lucrezia and Zechs, before continuing; "We've decided to come forth, the eight of us- we all have abilities."

Usagi smiled slightly at Duo's reaction- his eyes flicked instantly to Minako, who was intently studying the food left on her plate. While Wufei let out a slight scoff, saying; "Here I thought you were level-headed, Hino."

Rei blinked, and looked up at him, a smirk dancing on her lips as she said; "I'm just as level-headed as you are, Chang. If not more so."

Usagi and Relena both stifled giggles at Wufei's face turning slightly red, before Usagi went on to say; "Most of us do not have talents usable in attack, they seem to tend more to defense and intelligence. But, well, once the details are smoothed out, we will be working together."

"Only the Lieutenant and the Doctor will serve with the Preventers, as they all ready do. The others will be classified as civilian operatives." Lady Une added, and Usagi nodded.

"Under whose direction?" Trowa asked, and Relena smiled slightly.

"You all will be given an Executive Directive enabling you to act independently from the Preventers and as you see fit for the safety of the ESUN and all her peoples by the end of today." Relena said; "As to under whose direction, well- you'll have to work that out between yourselves."

"Hiiro and Lieutenant Tsukino will be your representatives to us, however- considering the fact that the four of you have made him your de facto commander, and she was chosen to speak on behalf of the others." Lady Une said, and Trowa nodded, before Relena looked over to the pair.

"I'll need to know by dinner where you want to base yourselves out of, because that will take another piece of paper to authorize."

* * *

Author's Note: 

I've all ready got a good bit of the next chapter done, so hopefully it'll be up by sometime tomorrow. Thank you guys for reading, and all of your reviews! It's been so awesome writing this knowing that people are waiting for the next chapter.

Luff,  
B'resheet

02/26/08 - 02:50:32 PM


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